Twenty Years of Euthanasia and the Lack of Faith
In 2002, the Netherlands legalized euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. The difference between the two is the amount of involvement of the doctor. Euthanasia is known as a procedure whereby a physician administers end-of-life drugs to the patient. In the case of assisted suicide, the patient receives the poison through a doctor’s authority, similar to a prescription, and administers it to himself.
Over two decades ago, moral theologians and ethicists questioned the decision to assist in the death of individuals even if they are terminally ill as immoral and will become a slippery slope, expanding the number of future assisted premature deaths. Twenty years ago, the slippery slope was a theoretical criticism, but it has proved true.
When the legislation came into effect in the Netherlands, the argument for it was based on the erroneous premise that there can be a legitimate reason to kill human beings out of an abundance of compassion. It was argued that it was merciful for a patient having a terminal illness to be able to end their suffering by ending their life. The proponents of euthanasia saw no value in suffering, an opposite stance to the Christian position of redemptive suffering.
The terrifying evolution of assisted suicide in the Netherlands now includes healthy adults. According to the Telegraph, typically healthy persons who suffer from depression or other psychiatric disorders are seeking to have their lives ended. From 2002 through 2022, there is a constant and steady rise in psychiatric euthanasia cases. Plenty of people suffer from depression or other mental diseases and even, from time to time, have suicidal predilections. The Netherlands is not unique when speaking about cases of mental illness, but other developed countries have addressed the challenge through medication and therapy without relying on killing these patients.
The slippery slope of healthy young adults with psychiatric illness considered as a viable reason for suicide is by no means the beginning of the slide. In 2020, the Dutch Supreme Court exonerated a physician for euthanizing a patient with dementia. The ruling stemmed from a 2006 case of a 64-year-old woman diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease allegedly writing four years before her death her desire to be euthanized. She wrote, “I want to be able to decide while still in my senses and when I think the time is right.” Reports of the death were chilling. When the day came for her to be killed, a sedative was put in her coffee, and she lost consciousness. Presumably, the sedative was deemed enough to end her life, but that was not the case. The BBC reported the woman woke up and had to be held down by her daughter and husband while the process was finished.
Again, in 2020, the Netherlands approved assisted suicide for terminally young children under the age of 12. The Dutch health Minister, Hugo de Jonge, as the government’s representative, said the rule prohibiting king children under 12 would no longer suffer hopelessly and unbearably. After initiating a study on the topic of killing children, de Jonge said, “The study shows that there is a need for active termination of life among doctors and parents of incurably ill children, who are suffering hopelessly and unbearably and will die within in the foreseeable future.” Then why not do the moral thing and keep the child comfortable with readily available medications and let nature take its course?
There is no longer a slippery slope in Dutch society; the unthinkable about medically induced suicides, no matter what age no matter what condition, is being accepted by the government and her people. As a side note, the Dutch are also killing their own through abortion, which rose 15 % in 2022.
What conclusion can be drawn from the review of the data? Without too much deliberation, the one thing that stands out in all these examples is the rejection of human suffering. A secular society has no use for suffering because it makes no sense outside of the framework of Christianity or religious belief, which is steadily dwindling in the Netherlands. Recent statistics about religious affiliation show that 60% of Dutch citizens identify as having no religious affiliation. This means 6 out of 10 people have no foundation of a moral or ethical understanding of human life.
The absence of religious belief of any kind has to be one of the reasons why the euthanasia policy in the Netherlands is expanding. If there is no afterlife, if there is no judgment or an explanation for suffering, then life becomes unexplainable and suffering pure madness.
The Netherlands and its lack of religious belief is a sad example of societies that have lost their way, and the aftermath of state-sponsored killings is expected. The problem with the Dutch is not that they are sick and suffering physically or mentally; it is how they deal with human frailty. The disease problem in the Netherlands is spiritual, and their stubborn refusal to believe that God has a plan for them only adds to the killing.