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Dutch proposal to expand meaning of “unbearable suffering”

Here is a link to a post on Wesley Smith’s blog about  a position paper from the Dutch Physician’s Association seeking to expand the factors to be considered in assessing whether a patient’s suffering is “unbearable,” thus making the patient eligible for assisted suicide. 

According to the article to which Smith refers–“Until now, factors such as income or a patient’s social life played almost no role when physicians were considering a euthanasia request. However, the new guidelines will certainly change that. After almost a year of discussions, the KNMG has published a paper which says a combination of social factors and diseases and ailments that are not terminal may also qualify as unbearable and lasting suffering under the Euthanasia Act.”

http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/secondhandsmoke/2011/10/18/dutch-docs-to-expand-definition-of-suffering-for-euthanasia-to-include-loneliness-and-finances/

Richard M.

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