Europe and Euthanasia

A recent article discusses how European countries are “torn not only over whether to legalize assisted suicide, but also over where to set boundaries.”  Noelle Know, An Agonizing Debate About Euthanasia, USA Today, Nov. 23, 2005, at 15A.

Some of the key points of Ms. Know’s article include:

• Lord Joel Joffe has introduced an assisted-suicide bill in the British Parliament.
• Switzerland permits both citizens and foreigners to obtain assisted suicide.
• The Netherlands may “extend its current assisted suicide laws to cover infants born with severe malformations or terminal and excruciating illnesses.”
• Many people who initially request assisted suicide do not pursue the option further.
• In 2004, 347 assisted suicides occurred in Belgium.
• Between 300 to 350 assisted suicides occur in Switzerland each year.