The Evangelical Outpost has new information on a ruling by the Royal Dutch Medical Association (Sympathectomy of the Soul) that favors the increased application of euthanasia in the Netherlands.
The RDMA has created a new class of euthanasia candidates, those who are not diagnosed with any particular illness but can be said to be “suffering through living.”
In more than half of cases we considered, doctors were not confronted with a classifiable disease. In practice the medical domain of doctors is far broader… We see a doctor’s task is to reduce suffering, therefore we can’t exclude these cases in advance. We must now look further to see if we can draw a line and if so where. —Jos Dijkhuis, leader of the Dutch medical inquiry
“If we can draw a line…” That’s chilling. Suffering is entirely subjective, after all. Mental illnesses like depression, which are highly treatable with medication and counseling, can feel so overwhelming that sufferers frequently have to be pushed and prodded to seek treatment. Depression is a disease that destroys hope. What will happen if doctors simply agree to “cure” such vulnerable people with an overdose of Demerol?
See also my previous posting on the subject: The Groningen Protocol.
