Netherlands euthanasia lobby pushes “kill pill”
By Alex Schadenberg, International Chair, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
NVVE
[Nederlandse Vereniging voor een Vrijwillig Levenseinde], the
Netherlands euthanasia lobby, has renewed its push for a kill pill that
would be made available, free of charge and upon request, to people who
are over the age of 70 [1].In 2010, the Netherlands euthanasia lobby collected signatures supporting the “last will pill” for people over 70.
According to a report in the Dutch News:
The NVVE now wants to discuss its
ideas for an experiment with the health and justice ministries and with
the Dutch doctors’ association KNMG.
“We see that society wants such a
pill, particularly among the babyboom generation which is not afraid to
speak its mind,” NVVE director Robert Schurink told the NRC. “They want
control over the end of their lives.”
At the moment, the NVVE helps
people who do not want to live any longer access foreign suppliers who
can help them buy the pills to do the job, the paper said.
What about people who are living with situational depression, or, for example, someone who is grieving a lost spouse. Is it freedom to assist the suicide of someone who is living through the dark time of their life? No, it is a form of social abandonment and the ultimate form of elder abuse.
It is bad enough that the Netherlands allow euthanasia, but to simply say, “Oh, by the way, I am tired of living, give me the kill pill” is a dangerous and callous response.
[1] According to the Dutch News, “The idea for such a pill was first launched at the beginning of the 1990s by senior judge and euthanasia campaigner Huib Drion and became known as ‘Drion’s pill.’”
Editor’s note. This appeared at alexschadenberg.blogspot.com and is reprinted with permission.
Source: NRLC News
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