Her case has reignited a contentious debate across Western countries. France is currently debating the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide, with President Emmanuel Macron pushing for new laws.
The Catholic Church has been consistently outspoken in its opposition to euthanasia.
Cardinal Willem Eijk, the archbishop of Utrecht, has previously commented on the implications of broadening euthanasia criteria in the Netherlands. In a 2020 interview with CNA, Eijk said: “The respect for the essential value of the life of a human being is eroded ever more in the last half a century, which was inescapable.”
The Dutch cardinal, who studied medicine and holds doctorates in medical bioethics and in philosophy, noted: ”For, once accepting the termination of life for a certain measure of suffering, one will always be confronted with the question of whether it should not also be allowed in suffering that is only a little bit less.”
Rise in numbers
For decades, the Dutch Bishops’ Conference has emphasised the sanctity of life and the moral obligation to protect it. In a statement published in October 1999, the bishops argued that euthanasia undermines the fundamental principle that human life must be protected and valued. They stressed that there is no “right” to euthanasia and that legal exemptions for doctors who perform euthanasia contradict the principle of protecting human life.
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