A new report on assisted suicide reveals increased use of the procedure across all areas where the practice is allowed.
Complied as Britain’s Parliament prepares for a September 11 debate on legislating for assisted suicide, ‘Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: A Guide to the Evidence’, from the Anscombe Bioethics Centre in Oxford, England, examined current practices in Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and the US states of Oregon and Washington.
In all cases, the report found, there are “common patterns”, that is, increases not only in the numbers dying by assisted suicide or euthanasia, but in the number of conditions for which ‘assisted dying’ is offered. Simultaneously, there has been a decrease in legal safeguards against abuse of the system. In Belgium, for example, depression is now a qualifier for euthanasia, while in The Netherlands, ‘assisted dying’ surged by 130% for dementia patients and 200% for mental disorders in a single year.
“In every jurisdiction numbers have increased over time and continue to do so,” the guide state, adding that “there has also been a shift from permitting assisted suicide for cancer victims to include other diseases”.
Meanwhile, it points out: “Supposed safeguards such as psychiatric referral have also declined in frequency”.
A number of groups have already voiced strong opposition to any change in Britain’s laws on assisted suicide, the British Medical Council among them.
Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: A Guide to the Evidence is available: at:http://www.bioethics.org.uk/evidenceguide.html [1]