The Dangers Of Legalizing Assisted Suicide

Today’s UK Mail posted an article about the number of people killed by euthanasia in Belgium without their consent so that their organs could be used in organ transplants.  Euthanasia became legal in Belgium in 2002; the law at that time required that the individual involved request euthanasia.  Evidently, things have changed.

The article reports:

“‘Given that half of all euthanasia cases in Belgium are involuntary it must be only a matter of time before the organs are taken from patients who are euthanised without their consent.

“‘The matter of fact way the retrieval process is described in the paper is particularly chilling and shows the degree of collaboration that is necessary between the euthanasia team and the transplant surgeons – prep them for theatre next to the operating room, then kill them and wheel them in for organ retrieval. All in a day’s work in Brave New Belgium.’

“He added: ‘Doctors there now do things that those in most doctors in other countries would find absolutely horrific.’

The report comes just a year after researchers found a high proportion of deaths classified as euthanasia in Belgium have involved patients who have not requested their lives to be ended by a doctor.”

The idea that any of these deaths involved patients who have not requested their lives to be ended by a doctor is frightening.  Doctors in America take an oath to “do not harm.”  I don’t know if doctors in other countries take that oath or not.  It seems like now might be a really good time to encourage doctors around the world to encourage life–not try to end it in order to satisfy a demand for used body part in good shape.