The timing of a debate on euthanasia may serve some political purpose but clearly is not what is needed at this moment in time.
When those closer to the reality of death are locked away in homes and institutions, with very strict visiting rights, even room-bound, what we propose to offer them as solace for their loneliness and boredom is euthanasia. But let us debate if we must!
MEP Cyrus Engerer said: “A dignified death is the least one could give someone who is suffering a chronic illness”.
The question I ask is this: is hastening death a show of dignity and respect? I would rather believe that accompaniment and love are the signs of dignity and respect rather than offering death as the solution.
Equating terminal illness with physical suffering ignores the value of palliative care and the enormous strides this sector has made in recent years.
Palliative care is what provides dignity to the terminally ill as the patient is surrounded by the love of his family, the medical assistance to relieve his or her pain and the emotional and spiritual support of psychologists, carers, priests and other professionals.
I would urge the prime minister, if still undecided on the issue, to first review the effectiveness of our palliative support network and make sure we truly are providing patients the dignity they deserve, rather than writing them off.
When euthanasia is introduced, the last people it helps are the people who we think need it most. Terminally ill patients feel compelled to go for it because of the guilt they feel in burdening their loved ones with their sickness. This becomes even more compelling when the patient is passing through a depression.
Once we introduce euthanasia, we lose control over our lives.
The reasons why one should be encouraged to die increase as society becomes more accustomed to this solution and patients start being thrown under the carpet.
Medicine takes a step back in its research for more effective palliative care solutions to provide quality of life to the elderly and terminally ill patients and research spending goes towards more effective killing.
By time, as happened in countries that introduced it, the decision moves from the patient’s hands to relatives, doctors or institutions and the state. With pressure on public finances, euthanasia becomes the cheaper, more attractive option to the state, rather than longer-term palliative care and, so, it will be encouraged more.
There is no right to die but there is a right to be cared for- Tonio Fenech
This is the fear that the elderly will face, especially those abandoned in some homes by their loved ones. The sacred trust between the patient and the doctor is broken, transforming tools of healing into techniques for killing.
The elderly and the terminally ill start to doubt whether the medication on their bedside table is there to improve their life or to get rid of them. The elderly will easily be classified as terminally ill when bedridden, suffering from dementia and other ailments associated with old age.
Theo Boer, a Dutch ethicist who argued in favour of a “good euthanasia law” for Holland, not only changed his view but became an international advocate against euthanasia after witnessing the horrific experience of his own country. “Now, with 12 years of experience, I take a very different view,” he said, as studies demonstrated that permitting euthanasia led to the euthanasia of children, the demented, the mentally ill, the bereaving and others.
The Remmelink Report analysed all 129,000 deaths in the Netherlands in 1990. Three per cent were euthanasia. One in three were euthanasia without explicit request. In a mix of non-voluntary and involuntary euthanasia, that year, Dutch doctors killed more than 1,000 patients without their request. In 2005, Dutch doctors instituted the Groningen protocol enabling the killing of severely disabled children.
Euthanasia compromises doctors and their mission to save life. Death becomes just another treatment and, by time, they play God, deciding who lives and who dies on their assessment, as to whether one merits to live longer, be granted a life-saving treatment and so on.
This happened in the UK with the discredited ‘Liverpool care pathway’ (LCP) that ended up as a ‘backdoor euthanasia’ rather than palliative care. Widely abused as a ‘tick box exercise’, patients were casually assessed as terminal, kept heavily sedated and denied water so the diagnosis became self-fulfilling.
Patients were never asked whether they wanted to be killed and many were not terminal before the treatment. Hospitals were provided cash incentives to achieve targets for the number of patients dying, or better, ‘killed’ by ‘corrupted’ medics who signed off assessments to meet targets. The NHS was eventually subject to severe parliamentary scrutiny and forced to stop LCP.
Knowing that you are dying may be a horrible thought but it can be a blessing if the opportunity is taken to say forgive me, I forgive you, thank you, I love you, and yes, goodbye. There is no right to die but there is a right to be cared for.
Compassion is sticking by the patient, lovingly accompanying him or her through this journey and not pulling the plug and walking away.
Euthanasia is not mercy killing but killing mercy.
Tonio Fenech, from Catholic Voices Malta, is a former finance minister.