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For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord.
But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death. Proverbs 8:35-36
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 14:12 (also Proverbs 16:25)
Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. Proverbs 14:34
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,...
...And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Romans 1:22,28
Physicians in the Netherlands in the 21st century are now doing voluntarily what Dutch physicians in the 1940s refused to do under Nazi occupation and pressure; so why are the Nazis still regarded as villains in countries that are increasingly adopting their policies?
This blogger has long predicted that voluntary euthanasia will eventually lead to involuntary euthanasia, so it comes as no surprise to see a report such as the following, which shows the slippery slope argument against euthanasia to be accurate; I am surprised that someone is actually being prosecuted. As reported by Agence France-Presse and Connor Boyd of the London Daily Mail, November 9, 2018:
Dutch authorities are prosecuting a doctor for euthanising an elderly woman with dementia in the first case of its kind since the practice was legalised in 2002.
The doctor, who was not named, has been charged with secretly drugging the woman's coffee with Dormicum to make her drowsy and asking her family to hold her down as she was lethally injected in a care home in The Hague in 2016.
Whilst the 74-year-old patient was receiving the lethal injection she woke up and began fighting the doctor.
An investigation showed that the only way the doctor could complete the injection was by getting family members to help restrain her.
It also revealed that the patient said several times 'I don't want to die' in the days before she was put to death.
It's the first time prosecutors in the Netherlands have successfully charged a doctor with unlawfully ending a patients life since euthanasia was legalised 16 years ago.
The Netherlands and neighbouring Belgium became the first countries in the world to legalise so-called mercy killing, but it can only be carried out by doctors and under very strict conditions.
According to the Dutch Medical Complaints Board, the dementia-sufferer had earlier expressed a desire for euthanasia when 'the time was right' if she ever ended up in a care home.
The medical board reprimanded the doctor in July after concluding its investigation.
It found that even though the woman was suffering intolerably and there were no further treatment options, two key prerequisites mentioned in Dutch euthanasia law, they deemed that the doctor had acted carelessly by not asking the patient explicitly if she agreed with the euthanasia.
Medical paperwork showed that she often exhibited signs of fear and anger and would wander around the building at night.
The nursing home's senior doctor was of the opinion that the patient was suffering intolerably, but that she was no longer in a position where she could confirm that the time was now right for the euthanasia to go ahead.
However, the euthanasia doctor reportedly believed that the woman's circumstances made it clear that the time was right for euthanasia.
The doctor also did not tell her patient what was in her coffee as it was also likely to cause further disruption to the planned euthanasia process.
Prosecutors said the doctor in the case 'overstepped the mark' with the nursing home patient, who had written a will saying she wanted to die but did not clearly say so at the time of her death.
'A nursing home doctor who performed euthanasia in April 2016 on a 74-year-old demented and incapacitated woman will be prosecuted,' the Netherlands prosecution service said in a statement.
'This is the first time that the Dutch Public Prosecution Service will prosecute a doctor for euthanasia since the introduction of the Act on Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide in 2002.'
The doctor believed she had acted cautiously and 'welcomes further guidance on the question of the wishes of incapacitated patients,' her spokesman was quoted as saying by the NOS public television channel.
'She regrets however that she has been prosecuted for this.'
The medical complaints board found that the advance directive of the OAP was contradictory and it should have never been read as a voluntarily and well-thought out wish to die.
The board added that the doctor made a mistake not discussing the use of a soporific in the patient's coffee.
Prosecutors added that the doctor 'should have checked with the woman whether she still had a death wish by discussing this with her.'
They said the case 'addresses important legal issues regarding the termination of life of dementia patients. To get these questions answered, the prosecution service now presents this specific issue to the court.'
The medical complaints board ruled: 'Given the irreversibility of ending a life and the ethical aspects linked to consciously ending the life of a fellow human being, a written euthanasia declaration should not leave any doubts for interpretation.'
The doctor, who retired a month after the euthanasia incident, has appealed the decision.
According to Dutch law, euthanasia is only legal as long as the doctor abides by the strict standards described in the 'Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide (Review Procedures) Act'.
The Dutch law code reads: 'Any person who deliberately terminates another person's life at that person's express and earnest request shall be liable to a term of imprisonment not exceeding twelve years or a fifth-category fine.
In 2017, some 6,585 people chose euthanasia to end their own lives in the Netherlands, about 4.4 percent of the total number of more than 150,000 registered deaths in the country, according to the Regional Euthanasia Review Committee which strictly monitors all cases.
That year, the number of people in the Netherlands who legally ended their lives with medical assistance rose by eight per cent; the figure for 2016 was 6,091.
Twelve cases were identified as having possible concerns by the committee, of which two are now under investigation by prosecutors.
According to the Euthanasia Review Committee, which checks after the event if each euthanasia process was performed according to the law, 90 per cent of those who underwent euthanasia had been suffering from incurable diseases such as cancer or muscle-wasting diseases such as ALS.
However, three patients in a severe state of dementia also chose to end their life, as did 166 who only had early symptoms of dementia.
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