I have nothing really to add to this article. No snarky remark. No 2 cents. No elucidation. But in case you can’t get around to reading the full column, I’ll highlight this one bit:
In 1998, 12 per cent of PAS patients in Oregon said they chose this irreversible course of action [euthenasia] because they didn’t want to burden their family. That rose to 26 per cent in 1999, 42 per cent in 2005 and 45 per cent in 2007, the last year figures are available. If that were a company’s bottom line, champagne corks would be popping!
In other words, for the infirm and disabled, the right to die quickly becomes the duty to die. Wanting to live despite being frail or ill increasingly is viewed as selfish in places where euthanasia is the law.
That’s not empowerment, it’s coercion, guilt for living, pressure to die.
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Rebecca adds: And so few people discuss this. The percentage of people euthanized in the Netherlands without their own consent or that of their next-of-kin rose along similar lines. And countless young women are pushed into abortions against their own instincts and judgment by pressure from parents (we’ll kick you out of the house, you’ll never be able to get a degree, it’s selfish to have a baby when you’re too young) and boyfriends (I’ll leave you if you don’t abort, I’ll never leave you/love you forever if you will). There is a debate to be had about whether abortion and euthanasia are moral. But even if we were to stipulate that they are entirely morally acceptable, there is a whole different debate about what constitutes informed consent. The standards applied to any other medical decision are waived, when assisted suicide and abortion are the issue.
by 
(Part I)
This reminds me of my grandparents, who had radically different outlooks towards the ends of their lives. My grandmother had dementia and for the last five or so years we heard a lot of "I wish the Good Lord would take me now"; my grandfather had to have the lower thirds of both legs removed and he was looking forward to going home and planting some radishes. (Unfortunately, he died while recovering from his amputation, though the amputation wasn't the reason for his death; he was 91 years old.) Both of them, however, would have been repulsed by the suggestion that perhaps they could kill themselves. They were very religious people, but you don't have to believe there is a God to acknowledge that you're not God and shouldn't be picking who gets to live and who gets to die.
(Part II)
My mother had to spend hours and hours every week for several years dealing with my grandparents' medical problems, but she would be offended beyond words if someone told her that during all those hours she was wasting her life. As for other family members, I learned so much about unconditional love during my grandparents' last years. When my grandfather was able to leave the nursing home and my grandmother had to stay behind, he argued with everyone for weeks that he was going to find a way to bring her home. It wasn't possible, but woe to anyone who told him that before he accepted it himself. My grandmother was a very stubborn person and didn't usually want to do what the doctors were telling her she had to do, but my mother was always there to make sure she did it. I hope that if my mother has important medical problems someday that I can be as good a daughter to her as she was to my grandparents.
I didn't think about the pressures to relieve family of their burden. Personally I'd rather see a loved one alive then dead. (Not that I'd want them to suffer, but I wouldn't want them to resort to euthanasia for my sake.)
Unfortunately, it gets even more sick than societal pressure. In places like Oregon where Euthanasia is legal health insurance companies are increasingly refusing to pay for costly treatments to keep their patients alive and urging them to choose euthanasia (doctor assisted SUICIDE) instead. It's heartbreaking that American society has come to that.
It is actually quite bit more insidious.
People believe they should kill themselves. They believe their life has no meaning beyond a practical purpose to accomplish/produce. They have been dehumanized.
This is the predictable and inevitable result of a secular society. Human life has no inherent value. (If you do not mean anything to me beyond what I receive from you, then I also have limited/expiring value to you.)
Only God tells us that we have eternal value.
I would have to add to Rebecca’s comments, being born in The Netherlands myself, that if you check abortion rate, Canada’s rate is almost double that of The Netherlands per head.
Having travelled all my life, lived in 4 different countries, 3 continents, I find this self-idealism, merely a cover up for Canadian inadequacy. There is lots of ‘euthenasia’ happening in Canada because doctors think it is for the ‘best’, patients do not even know it. It should really be labeled murder, because euthenasia happens ALWAYS with consent.
The Netherlands has legalized euthenasia -agaian it always happens with consent plus a whole paper-trail, second doc’s opinions etc. – to prevent individual doctors making these decisions, behind closed doors.
I challenge you to find the stats, the only hard proof, there are no stats in Canada. It all happens in the dark…..In The Netherlands everything is traceable….please, get your facts straight.
Also, ever visited an old-folks home or group home in Canada? Please do so and then make a random visit to one in The Netherlands and weep for the suffering the oldies and mentally challenged go thru in this great country of ours. What a joke!
One thing that concerns me about this Euthanasia debate is the way people who are pro euthanasia often compare humans to animals. One woman who is for euthanasia in britain says ‘if I was an animal I would be put down a long time ago’.
Their is several problems I have with this quote.
1. I don’t use the term ‘put down’ even when euthanasing my terminally sick pets.
2. I don’t want to start being treated like an animal. While I am for animal rights and think animals should be treated better the way to do this should never involve lowing human rights standards.
3. I’ve euthanased several pets. I might do so again. However there are also times when I have to refuse to Euthanase an animal. Some vets can be really pushy and make you feel really bad if you don’t euthanise a sick or disabled pet. I’m going through this at the moment with Mia. She interacts with her cage mates, she eats, she grooms herself, she may be thin with a great big lump but she definately has quality of life. So until that changes I will keep Mia alive.
My great concern is this ever turning out the case for sick/disabled humans. To me this is the major reason why Euthanasia for humans should not be permited.