Senior Health - The Dutch Way Of Death

"We Beatrix, by the grace of God, Queen of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, etc., etc. etc. Greetings to all who shall see or hear these presents! Be it known: … We have considered that it is desired to include a ground for exemption from criminal liability for the physician who with due observance of the requirements of due care to be laid down by law terminates a life on request or assists in a suicide of another person…" — from Holland's euthanasia law, which went into effect on April 1, 2002

We have looked at the American way of death. Is there a better way? The chart shows death statistics collected in Holland in 1991. When Holland passed the world's first euthanasia law in 2002, the practice of physician-assisted death in that country was longstanding. Although a criminal act, it had been openly tolerated since 1973 according to the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide.

In Holland, physician-assisted death legally requires the consent of the patient, but according to the task force, a Dutch study found that "55% of the Dutch doctors interviewed in 1995 indicated that 'they had ended a patient's life without his or her explicit request' or 'they had never done so but that they could conceive of a situation in which they would.'"

On the day the Dutch senate approved the law, Dutch health minister Els Borst said in a newspaper interview that she is in favor of "Drion's pill" "if it can be carefully regulated so that it only concerns those people of advanced age who are done with life." Drion's pill is named after Hulb Drion, the former vice-president of the Dutch High Court, who in 1991 proposed that a suicide pill be made available to elderly people upon request.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee is "concerned that, with the passage of time, [Holland's] practice may lead to routinization and insensitivity to the strict application of the requirements in a way not anticipated." The London Daily Telegraph opined: "It is no mercy to get rid of the patient instead of the disease." The German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine warned: "When a sick person sighs: 'I wish I were dead,' it will no longer elicit sympathy and nursing care, but provide the opportunity to bind the patient to these words and begin legal proceedings, with the full approval of the state." The London Times predicted the growth of a new industry — death tourism — one-way euthanasia trips to Holland (the law does not prohibit doctors from administering euthanasia to non-residents).

Under the law, Dutch doctors are not permitted to suggest euthanasia as an option and a patient must be aware of all other medical options and have sought a second professional opinion. The request must be made voluntarily, persistently and independently while the patient is of sound mind. Patients may also execute a written request (advance directive) for a doctor to use discretion regarding euthanasia in the event the patient becomes too physically or mentally ill to make the decision. Children aged 12 through 15 can be euthanized or assisted in suicide with the consent of at least one parent or guardian. No parental consent is required for minors 16 or 17 years old.

Is this sound, humane policy to end unnecessary suffering? Does it constitute freedom to die, or freedom to be killed? Is this slippery slope legislation, from which a sequence of increasingly unacceptable events will follow?

Before leaving the topic of health care at the end of our days, we will look at the cost of health care for seniors.

Sources: Chart: Statistics from "a 1991 report by the attorney general of the High Council of the Netherlands," cited in "The Dutch Way of Death," by Richard Miniter, The Wall Street Journal, April 28, 2001, retrieved September 11, 2001, from http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=95000390. International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, http://www.internationaltaskforce.org/holland.htm. United Nations Human Rights Committee, http://www.unhchr.ch/.