A nurse in the UK has been convicted of murdering four frail elderly patients with overdoses of insulin. From the story:
Colin Norris, 32, believed he could kill with impunity, claiming four “frail and helpless” victims within six months by injecting them with lethal doses of insulin.
He boasted to hospital colleagues that “someone always died” when he was on the night shift and even accurately predicted when one would lapse into a coma. Norris, who had developed a hatred of elderly women in particular, showed no emotion as he was found guilty of four murders at Newcastle Crown Court. He will be sentenced tomorrow.This guy was clearly twisted and deserves every ounce of punishment he receives.
But his case got me thinking. In the Netherlands every year doctors lethally inject about 800 (according to government sponsored studies) patients who have never asked to be euthanized. This is murder under Dutch law, but it is never punished meaningfully. The Dutch even have a name for it: “Termination Without Request or Consent.”How are all those Dutch murders different from the killings committed by Norris? Ah, you say the motive is what matters—Norris hated and Dutch doctors just want to end suffering. But the act is what matters most, isn’t it? The Dutch non consensual euthanasia killings are murders as foul as those committed by Norris. But at least in the UK they do something about it.
