I once called euthanasia, “heroin.” My point was—and is—that once a culture starts mainlining mercy killing, it will always wants more. And now a Dutch euthanasia advocacy groups wants to create mobile euthanasia clinics. From the CBS story:
The main Dutch euthanasia advocacy group says it supports creating “mobile” euthanasia teams of doctors for terminally ill patients who want to die in their own homes, rather than in a hospital. The Netherlands legalized euthanasia in 2001 in cases where patients are suffering unbearable pain due to illness with no hope of recovery. Spokeswoman Walburg de Jong of The Right To Die said Wednesday the idea is a logical extension of its plan — notapproved by the government — to create a clinic for patients who meet the criteria for euthanasia but whose doctors are unwilling to carry it out.
You wouldn’t think that the Netherlands, which has wide open euthanasia, would need a Voluntary Euthanasia Society.
Just to be clear: Dutch doctors make house calls and euthanasia is often done in homes. Nor is Dutch euthanasia restricted legally to physical pain but also includes mental suffering. And since the Dutch Medical Association now wants to expand the concept of suffering even further, to include things like lonliness or financial concerns, this is really about creating Dutch Final Exit Network or mobile suicide clinics capable of offing any comer who wants to be offed that those in charge think worth offing.
Like I said, euthanasia is heroin.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
