Church in the World

Dutch rebuked over euthanasia

Rome

Rome has launched a scathing attack on the Netherlands for its policy on euthanasia in the wake of revelations over the fate of babies in Dutch hospitals.

The Pope last week called on Dutch society to be "more attentive to persons and their dignity". His comments came as the Dutch Journal of Medicine reported that doctors in the Netherlands have performed 22 mercy killings of terminally ill babies since 1997.

In a message of welcome to Monique Frank, the country's new ambassador to the Holy See, on 22 January, the Pope also reiterated the Vatican's belief that the most responsible way of combating Aids is through chastity and fidelity.

"The Holy See cannot fail to make known its clear position" on these life issues, the Pope said. He urged "Catholics of the Netherlands to constantly show their absolute respect for the human person, from conception to natural death". He said Dutch society was "marked by the phenomenon of secularisation" that allowed it to "engage in new politics" concerning the legislation of human life's beginning and end.

The Netherlands first began openly practising voluntary euthanasia (defined by Dutch law as "the termination of life by a doctor at the express will of the patient") by lethal injection in 1984. Even with subsequent legislation - as recently as 2002 - the practice remains punishable in principle, but is not prosecuted provided doctors follow a number of clearly defined conditions.

Euthanasia for children is illegal in the Netherlands. The Journal of Medicine study said none of the doctors - all of whom volunteered the information - were prosecuted since they followed four "unofficial rules". These included the consent of the child's doctors and parents, the lack of any prospect for improvement or easing of pain, and the correct medical termination of the child's life. But the study said many other mercy killings take place without being reported.

The Pope, who paid a visit to the Netherlands in 1985 which led to controversy, has been critical of the country's secularised culture in the past, but he praised it for efforts to promote tolerance in what has quickly become a multiracial society. He also lauded the Dutch for assisting developing countries in the fight against poverty, hunger, and Aids. But he said the most "responsible" way to combat the disease is through chastity.

The Pope emphasised the work Catholics are doing to help people with Aids. "At my request, the Church has mobilised to help the victims and especially to make sure they have access to the necessary care and medicines through numerous treatment centres," he said, referring to the Good Samaritan Foundation the Vatican set up last year to coordinate funding for people with Aids, especially in Africa.
Robert Mickens, Rome