When Belgian woman Godelieva De Troyer “felt that she had lost her levensperspectief, a Dutch word that refers to the sense that there is something to live for,” she switched doctors and found one who was “was one of the leading proponents of a 2002 law in Belgium that permits euthanasia for patients who have an incurable illness that causes them unbearable physical or mental suffering.” Doctor Wim Distelmans had euthanized over a hundred patients.
“On April 20, 2012, [her son] Tom received a short letter from his mother that was written in the past tense. She reported that her euthanasia had been carried out on April 19th, at the university hospital of the Free University of Brussels. ‘I donated my body to science,’ she wrote.”
Belgium was the second country, after the Netherlands, to decriminalize euthanasia. Luxembourg, Canada and Colombia have since followed suit. Switzerland has allowed suicide since 1942.
“In Belgium, euthanasia is embraced as an emblem of enlightenment and progress, a sign that the country has extricated itself from its Catholic, patriarchal roots. Distelmans, who was brought up as a Catholic and then rejected the Church, told me that his work is inspired by an aversion to all forms of paternalism. ‘Who am I to convince patients that they have to suffer longer than they want?’ he said.”
Here in the U.S., Oregon, Washington, Montana and Vermont have all legalized assisted suicide.
“The right-to-die movement has gained momentum at a time of anxiety about the graying of the population; people who are older than sixty-five represent the fastest-growing demographic in the United States, Canada, and much of Europe. But the laws seem to be motivated less by the desires of the elderly than by the concerns of a younger generation, whose members derive comfort from the knowledge that they can control the end of their lives.”
This lengthy New Yorker article goes deep into both sides of assisted suicide, and we think it’s well worth the time to read.
