From JOHN OLIVER
Your article on euthanasia in the Netherlands (‘The Dutch way of death’,
20 June) made much of the small percentage of cases (0.8 per cent of deaths)
where doctors assisted death without following the strict guidelines for
voluntary euthanasia.
These cases of ‘involuntary euthanasia’ are widely heralded by those
opposed to the right to die as proof of a slippery slope. It is crucial
to safeguard against abuse, but before condemning the whole idea of voluntary
euthanasia because of these cases, we should look more closely at what doctors
were doing when they shortened patients’ lives without following the formal
procedure. Most patients had previously expressed a wish for euthanasia
if suffering became unbearable; most were in extreme suffering and it was
too late to discuss medical decisions competently; in most cases life was
shortened by a few hours or days at the most.
Doctors who act to relieve suffering under these circumstances do so
out of compassion and a desire to fulfill their duty to help the patient.
This happens all round the world – not just in the Netherlands – and it
is nonsense to pretend otherwise. Indeed, since patients in this country
cannot escape any terminal agonies by opting for voluntary euthanasia, it
may well be that the incidence here is very much higher.
The Remmelink report also shows that doctors do not, and never will,
consider euthanasia lightly. Help in dying is the last resort and doctors
do not immediately accede to requests for euthanasia: some 9000 requests
a year were made by patients, but only 2700 cases of doctor-assisted voluntary
euthanasia took place.
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There is truth in the adage that if you want the best from a Dutch doctor
you ask for euthanasia: that request will ensure that every possible alternative
avenue is thoroughly explored. But in the end, if the patient is still suffering
great pain or loss of dignity, 75 per cent of British people agree that
doctors should be able to give help to achieve a good death.
Since the Remmelink report showed that 54 per cent of all non-acute
deaths involved a medical decision, there is an urgent case for ensuring
that the patient is allowed a say at the end of life.
John Oliver The Voluntary Euthanasia Society (EXIT) London
