Belgian Euthanasia of Woman on Hunger Strike

I will say it until I am blue in the face, and then I will keep saying it: Euthanasia guidelines are not really there to be followed and actually protect the vulnerable. They are there to give the illusion of control.

Consider: In Belgium, which has Dutch-style euthanasia, an elderly woman wanted euthanasia but didn’t qualify under the law. She got it anyway after a hunger strike. From Derek Humphry’s blog:

A 93-year-old Belgian woman has died after going on a 10-day hunger strike last month to force doctors to help her die, her family said. Amelie Van Esbeen, born in 1916, was surrounded by family members at a home where she lived for the past five years…Van Esbeen ended her hunger strike on March 24 and made a written euthanasia request which was accepted by a different doctor who helped her die on Wednesday around noon, her family said. (Report from Expatica, Beligum)

Like I said, guidelines are not really meant to protect, just give the illusion of control.