Belgium Pushes for Teenagers to Decide on Euthanasia

As I often say, euthanasia consciousness leads to the bottomless pit. Latest example: There is now pressure in Belgium to open euthanasia to children and people with dementia. From the story:

Teenagers should be given the right to medically assisted suicide and the parents of terminally ill younger children should be able to choose euthanasia under proposals from members of Belgium's coalition government...Under existing Belgian laws, in place since 2002, patients, other than newborn babies, must be over 18 to qualify for assisted suicide, a situation that Bart Tommelein, leader of Belgium Liberals, wants changed.

Mr Tommelein, whose party is a key member of Belgium's coalition government, has pledged to bring forward new legislative proposals extending euthanasia to children and old people suffering from such severe dementia that they are unable to choose for themselves.

So, we see that under euthanasia consciousness, even "choice" eventually takes a back seat to death as the answer to human suffering. It's as plain as day: In the words of the late Dutch euthanasia opponent, Dr. Karl Gunning, once killing is seen as the answer to one problem, it soon becomes the answer to 100.

The indefatigable Alex Schadenberg, the head of Canada's Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, has more analysis here at his new blog.

Belgian Euthanasia: Going Up

Euthanasia is legal in Belgium as well as the Netherlands. And if anything, the Belgians have embraced it with greater fervor than the Dutch. Cases have risen 15% and that is thought to be underreported. From the story:

However, the real number of cases is believed to be double that 1% of deaths in Belgian are speeded up by euthanasia. Around 1,000 people received help to end their lives last year.

Most cases were in Flanders, which makes sense since it is closest culturally to the Netherlands. Not coincidentally, a few years ago a Lancet study found that about 8% of all babies who die in Flanders are killed by doctors. That's what happens when killing is deemed an acceptable answer to human suffering.