Suicide Culture: The Netherlands Shows That It’s’ Never Enough

First Things | by Wesley J. Smith | Nov. 13, 2009

The Netherlands has the world’s most liberal euthanasia law, which is even more radical in practice. Its doctors assist the suicides of the depressed and the grieving, a practice long since approved by the country’s Supreme Court. Some “terminate” patients “without request or consent.” Babies born with serious disabilities are subjected to eugenic infanticide. Doctors whose patients may not qualify for euthanasia refer patients to an on line “auto euthanasia” how-to-commit suicide” site. Doctors who decide it is too difficult to kill patients directly, put them into terminal sedation so they don’t do the deed directly and in person.

And now: Suicide tips for only 17.50 Euros!  From the story:

No prospects for the future, tired of life or suicidal? Anyone who wants to take matters of life and death into their own hands can get plenty of information on how to end it all from the Dutch Right to Die Association (NVVE). The association has made suicide tips available on a new website. Spokesperson for the association Walburg de Jong says the website is meant to give people information so that they can end their lives in a “humane way without resorting to horrific methods like throwing themselves off a roof or in front of a train.”

But doesn’t that encourage people to commit suicide? Not according to Ms De Jong: “Firstly it is only for members, so people can only enter the site with a log-in code.” You only have access to the site if you are a member, which costs 17.50 euros per year. But this appears not to be true. This morning, a number of Radio Netherlands journalists managed to log in to the suicide instruction site without the log-in code.

Codes, shmodes: Those who encourage and support people in dying instead of living have much for which to answer morally, it seems to me. That point aside, this story again demonstrates that once suicide culture is allowed to germinate, it is never satiated, never enough.

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