Those in favour of this law paint a rosy picture of the international scene due to their support for legalised euthanasia and assisted suicide. But is this an accurate reading of international data and evidence; or are they merely interpreting things this way because they are cherry-picking facts?
Overseas overview
Of all the countries in the world, only five percent allow some form of ‘assisted dying’. Most of those who have introduced this type of law only allow assisted suicide as a method; very few offer euthanasia.
Assisted suicide is where a health practitioner prescribes a lethal dose and the person administers it themselves.
Euthanasia is where a health practitioner intentionally administers a lethal dose to end the life of the person.
The Numbers Grow
In every place where a form of ‘assisted dying’ has been legalised the number of people using it has steadily increased. In many regions, the number escalates quickly.
In Victoria, Australia assisted suicide was legalised in June 2019 with a prediction of 12 people opting to use it in 12 months. However, 130 people died in the first six months alone.
The Netherlands has seen the numbers double since its introduction in 2003. In the first few years, it accounted for around two percent of all deaths. By 2019 this has increased to four percent. Disturbingly in recent years, there has been an exponential increase in the number of those requesting it who struggle with mental illness and psychological suffering.
In Canada, 1,015 people used ‘assisted dying’ when their law was introduced in 2016. By 2019 this had risen to 5,631 people using it annually – an increase of more than 500%.
Laws are broken
Reports of doctors breaking the law have surfaced, yet these doctors go unpunished. In Canada, doctors have suggested euthanasia as a treatment for patients, despite it being illegal to do this. In The Netherlands, at least 23% of euthanasia deaths aren’t reported even though reporting any euthanasia death is required by law.
Eligibility criteria loosens
In every jurisdiction there has been a logical, legislative/judicial, or practical expansion of the criteria and the application.
Canada introduced legislation in 2016 which included the requirement that those eligible must have a “reasonably foreseeable” death. Several people contested what the definition of “reasonably foreseeable” meant in court. Rulings interpreted that law to include anyone expected to die within ten years. However, in 2021, the law was re-written, among several adjustments was the removal of that requirement altogether.
The law in Belgium removed the age requirement from their eligibility, so children can use it. As a result children as young as nine years old have accessed it.
In The Netherlands, the age limit has also been changed to allow for children as young as 12 with patient and parental consent. It is also legal for infants up to a year old with parental consent. The government has since approved plans to allow euthanasia for children from one to 12 years of age.
Originally those using it were terminal, despite the law not requiring it. But there has been a steady increase in those with psychiatric illnesses choosing it. 166 people with dementia were euthanised without consent in 2017. In fact, The Netherlands is now looking to expand the law to give access to euthanasia to people over the age of 70 who are perfectly healthy but want to die because they are ‘tired of life’.
Very few doctors participate
The practise of intentionally harming a patient runs against the fabric of medical ethics. Very few doctors will agree to participate in the process of euthanasia or assisted suicide. Most will conscientiously object. This is the pattern seen in every jurisdiction across the world which has legalised this.
The implications are concerning. Doctors won't know their patients well.
On average in Oregon, the patient-doctor relationship for those participating in assisted suicide is very 12 weeks. These doctors are somehow required to detect coercion in patients that they barely know.
The lack of doctor participation also means there will be a small pool doing all of the work. This creates a risk that only doctors who agree with ‘assisted dying’ will be the ones on oversight bodies holding their colleagues accountable.
‘Assisted dying’ will become normal… Loosening of the eligibility criteria will happen… Vulnerable people will choose ‘assisted dying’ because of a lack of good healthcare...
The pressure of being a burden will prove too much... Wrongful deaths will occur... Bad deaths will still happen... If we don’t stand our ground.
“The proponents of this law were able to convince the public that it should be passed for the narrowest of reasons. We know from the experience of other jurisdictions, that this is usually what gets the law across the line, but very soon after that we see a rapid expansion of the law – sometimes over 5-10 years. We are seeing that already in Canada. Canada was mostly terminal illness. Within five years it’s been expanded to mental illness, to chronic illness and also to people who make advanced directives.”
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