Ethics Council rejects euthanasia as “too great a risk” to vulnerable groups

13 October 2023

The Danish Ethics Council has recommended that euthanasia should remain illegal in Denmark, having concluded that it is “in principle impossible to establish proper regulation of euthanasia”.

Sixteen of the seventeen members of Denmark’s Ethics Council have ruled that Denmark’s parliament should not legalise euthanasia.

“The very existence of an offer of euthanasia will decisively change our ideas about old age, the coming of death, quality of life and what it means to take others into account”, the Council’s report concluded.

“If euthanasia becomes an option, there is too great a risk that it will become an expectation aimed at special groups in society.”

The verdict follows the suggestion of introducing euthanasia legislation by Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, who indicated her support for a law change in June.

In recent years, horror stories coming out of Canada have highlighted the dangers of assisted suicide, especially for the disabled and the elderly.

In August, an official memo told doctors in Quebec to respect the limits of the law following a massive 54% rise in assisted suicides there between 2021 and 2022, including potentially 15 wrongful deaths.

Campaigner Liz Carr will focus on Canada in a BBC documentary on the dangers of assisted suicide, set to air soon. Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) has killed over 40,000 Canadians since it was legalised in 2016.

SPUC comment

A SPUC spokesperson said: “It is impossible to ignore the shocking example of Canada where assisted suicide has signed the death warrants of many vulnerable people lacking basic care and even liveable accommodation.

“Canada shows that the ‘slippery slope’ is very real and a menace to disabled people, as well the elderly and the mentally ill – including dozens of war veterans suffering from PTSD who were offered state-sanctioned suicide.

“As the Danish Ethics Council rightly concluded, the only safeguard against assisted suicide is not to legalise it in the first place. UK politicians must take note.”

BBC documentary to expose dangers of assisted suicide for the disabled

Memo tells doctors to slow down assisted suicide cases after huge rise in deaths

Ethics Council rejects euthanasia as “too great a risk” to vulnerable groups

13 October 2023

The Danish Ethics Council has recommended that euthanasia should remain illegal in Denmark, having concluded that it is “in principle impossible...

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