- Meeting death on our own terms
At the end of life, many people end up in a hospital. Whether or not they would prefer to die at home, more than half of the people in Germany die in intensive care units. Some die in nursing homes and a few die in hospices. Why is that? Most people want to die at home. But only very few manage to fall asleep peacefully with their family. Take Ingrid L., who’d been in a coma for three months following a cardiac arrest and was on a ventilator. Her husband was desperately fighting for the doctors to follow her living will and let her die. "It's a horror! She never wanted to live hooked up to machines for months on end, like that," he said. more
- Portuguese parliament approves euthanasia
With the new law legalizing euthanasia, Portugal joins a handful of countries that allow medically assisted dying. It would apply to people suffering from "lasting" and "unbearable" pain. The Portuguese parliament on Friday passed a bill that aims to legalize euthanasia for people suffering with terminal illnesses. more
- Netherlands to broaden euthanasia rules to cover children of all ages
The Netherlands is to widen its euthanasia regulations to include the possibility of doctors assisting in the death of terminally ill children aged between one and 12. more
- Jean-Luc Godard chose to end life through assisted dying, lawyer confirms
The medical report on the death of the 91-year-old director said he had chosen to end his life. He “had recourse to legal assistance in Switzerland for a voluntary departure” because he was “stricken with ‘multiple incapacitating illnesses’”, Godard’s legal council, Patrick Jeanneret, told AFP. more
- New law allowing assisted suicide comes into effect in Austria
A new law allowing people who are terminally ill or have a permanent, debilitating condition, to end their own lives has come into effect in Austria after parliament approved the law in December, 2021. more
- Sarco suicide capsule hopes to enter Switzerland
A 3D-printed capsule destined for use in assisted suicide hopes to operate in Switzerland, according to Exit International, the organisation that developed the ‘Sarco’ machine. more
- ‘I Need to Know I Tried’
In 2019, Dr. Richard Leiter, a palliative care specialist, met a patient and the man’s wife in the intensive care unit at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. The patient, in his 70s, had heart disease and kidney problems. But he had been living at home and doing reasonably well until sepsis, a life-threatening bloodstream infection, sent him to an emergency room. When the kidney palliative care team met with the man’s wife to discuss treatment, it proposed what is known as a time-limited trial, in which life-sustaining treatment continues for an agreed-on period to see how the patient responds. more
- Spain passes law allowing euthanasia
Spain has passed a law to legalise euthanasia, becoming the fourth country in Europe to allow people to end their own life in some circumstances. more
- Netherlands backs euthanasia for terminally ill children under-12
The Dutch government has approved plans to allow euthanasia for terminally ill children aged between one and 12. Euthanasia is currently legal in the Netherlands for children older than 12, with mandatory consent from the patient and their parents. It is also legal for babies up to a year old with parental consent. But there is no provision for those aged between one and 12 who are terminally ill. more
- Belgium’s euthanasia law under fire in European Court of Human Rights
On April 19, 2012, a 64-year-old Belgian woman named Godelieva de Troyer was euthanised. For the doctor, Wim Distelmans, it was probably just another case. For her son, Tom Mortier, a chemistry lecturer, it came as a terrible shock. He only found out on the day after her death. He has accused Distelmans of violating Belgium’s law on euthanasia. The case is now being considered by the European Court of Human Rights. more
- Germany’s high court endorses right to assisted suicide
- Germany overturns ban on professionally assisted suicide
- Portugal MPs in move to legalise euthanasia
- Marieke Vervoort: Paralympian ends life through euthanasia at age of 40
