This first appeared at bioedge.org and is reprinted with permission. By Michael CookThere is good news and bad news about euthanasia from the Netherlands and Belgium in JAMA Internal Medicine earlier this month. But which is which depends on which side of the fence you sit. Continue reading

The boundaries of euthanasia in Belgium and the Netherlands keep expanding, says a world expert.Raphael Cohen-Almagor First published by MercatorNet on July 31st 2015Raphael Cohen-Almagor, of the University of Hull in the United Kingdom, is a world expert on euthanasia in the Netherlands and Belgium. He recently contributed an article to the Journal of Medical Ethics on one of the most worrying aspects of the euthanasia in Belgiumâ��the deliberate shortening of lives of some patients without their explicit voluntary request. In this interview with MercatorNet, explains some of his concerns.MercatorNet: Are the figures of euthanasia cases rising? Continue reading

By Alex SchadenbergExecutive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition On Friday I published an article on a study concerning 100 requests for euthanasia for psychiatric reasons in Belgium.Lieve Thienport, the psychiatrist who approved the euthanasia death of "Laura" the 24-year-old physically healthy Belgian woman who lives with suicidal thoughts is also the psychiatrist who examined the 100 people who requested euthanasia in this study. Continue reading

Yesterday I wrote about the nasty attack staged in the Belgian De Morgen newspaper by Bernheim and Vermeersch. Today, Tom Mortier shares his thoughts on the personal attack on him in De Morgen:The Flemish newspaper De Morgen has been discrediting me for three years now. Continue reading

When discourse descends into ad hominem By Paul Russell: The name and the story of Belgian chemist, Dr Tom Mortier, is known throughout the world. His physically well mother, was clinically depressed. Yet she was euthanased without his knowledge in Belgium. He and his sister were left to pick up the pieces. Continue reading

By EPC International Director and Director of HOPE Ireland, Dr Kevin Fitzpatrick Hermann de Dijn, emeritus professor of philosophy at the Belgian University of Leuven, says: 'Once the law is there, you have people asking themselves new questionsâ�¦ 'Do I really have quality of life? Am I not a burden on others?'De Dijn believes that 'human dignity should include not only respect for personal choices but also for connectedness to loved ones and society.' The concept of human dignity in Belgium has been 'reduced to the ability to have certain experiences'.[1] Continue reading

an updated report from Alex SchadenbergInternational Chair - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition The Belgian euthanasia insanity continues with the case of a 24-year-old healthy woman (Laura) who will die by euthanasia this summer for psychological reasons, now the Inquisitr has provided more information on this horrific story. (Original article).The June 19 DeMorgen article by Simone Maas explains (google translated): Continue reading

Everyone who heard Tom Mortier speak at the recent #HOPE2015 Adelaide Symposium or at the more recent HOPE inaugural conference in Dublin, Ireland, was certainly moved emotionally by the story of the euthanasia death of his mother. She was physically well but suffered from clinical depression.The story itself is well known now across the globe. It is a clear example of the category shift in Belgium that allows now for euthanasia for a much broader range of circumstances than was ever envisaged when the law was debated and passed in 2001 and 2002. It is also a very clear example of what happens when the pursuit of autonomy moves past the natural boundaries of application to a point where even familial relationships count for little. "You've just taken away the suffering of one person and transposed it to another!' " Tom to Dr Distelmans.Tom is a dear friend. We spent a few days sightseeing and talking after the Adelaide event. As he has said repeatedly that he never asked for this. His life and that of his family have been radically altered by events beyond his control. He declares quite openly that he is not an activist. But he is someone who is grappling with the pursuit of justice; and that in a country where he finds that the cultural shift towards accepting euthanasia as a right sees him as one of only a few voices of opposition.No-one should ever experience such life-shattering events. But as Tom says, he knows that he is not the only one. There are others. The pursuit of justice needs a voice. Tom is such a voice. And while it is difficult and deeply frustrating to seek for justice to be done in an environment where many, if not most, cannot see the problem; justice will be done. Justice may be portrayed as a blindfolded woman, but she will have her way.During the Adelaide symposium and also since returning to Belgium, Tom has been co-operating with the Australian SBS television network in the production of a documentary. He also co-operated with Rachel Aviv from The New Yorker in a recently published expose on Belgium's love affair with euthanasia. I urge readers to consider how difficult it must be to retell these events time and time again. Tom is not seeking the limelight nor to bring attention to himself but, rather to an issue that cries out for justice; not just for himself, his mother and his family, but for his entire beloved homeland of Belgium.I encourage anyone who genuinely wishes to gain an understanding about Belgium's experiment with euthanasia to read the New Yorker article (linked here).We should all keep Tom and his family in our thoughts with gratitude for his incredible courage. Continue reading

by Michael CookFirst Published on the Bioegde website A leading academic has published a stinging critique of how Belgium administers its euthanasia law. Writing in the Journal of Medical Ethics, Rafael Cohen-Almagor, an Israeli professor of politics at the University of Hull, says that Belgians should be alarmed by the deliberate shortening of lives of some patients without their explicit voluntary request.Consent is supposed to be a cornerstone of Belgium's euthanasia act, but Cohen-Almagor, after surveying reports and articles, believes that the number of patients who are killed outside of the law is disturbing. "Ending patients' lives without request is more common than euthanasia," he says. He urges the Belgian medical profession to place reform high on their agenda. Continue reading

By Alex SchadenbergInternational Chair - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition The recent 2015 HOPE International Symposium opposing euthanasia and assisted suicide featured many excellent speakers, including Professor Tom Mortier, who's depressed mother died by euthanasia in Belgium.Rebecca DiGirolamo interviewed Mortier at the Symposium in Australia for the Southern Cross news. Continue reading