Cardinal Willem Eijk, head of the Dutch bishops' conference, has denounced a Government plan to legalise assisted suicide for people who feel that their life is "complete" and who no longer want to live, even if they are not terminally ill.
The archbishop of Utrecht (pictured), who is also the bioethics expert for the conference, said the proposed law put individual autonomy before respect for life. This would lead to pressure on ailing elderly people, the age group for which politicians say the law would be limited.
"When one becomes an expense for the health care system, one would almost feel guilty for continuing living regardless,” he wrote in a comment article.
This emphasis on human freedom over respect for life is mistaken, he argued, saying: "The end of human life is the end of human freedom.”
The Dutch health and justice ministers wrote last week that people who “have a well-considered opinion that their life is complete, must, under strict and careful criteria, be allowed to finish that life in a manner dignified for them”. They said they would consult with doctors and ethicists in preparing the bill, which should be ready by late 2017.
Euthanasia accounted for 5,516 deaths in 2015, or 3.9 percent of all deaths in the Netherlands.
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