X-Message-Number: 4125
From: 
Newsgroups: sci.cryonics
Subject: Re: Death in Holland
Date: 30 Mar 1995 10:45:34 GMT
Message-ID: <3le24e$>
References: <>

>>But it's certainly true that if you really want terminate your life,
>>it won't be a big problem to find legal and medical assistence in
>>Holland.

>Still no reaction from the cryonics service providers, come on
>Alcor. Is not this a breakthrough for suspension preparations in
>Europe? Hopefully the cost can be reduced as well, but more importantly
>people with progressive terminal illnesses, especially diseases such as
>Alzhimers or brain cancers, might be able to go into suspension while
>they still have a reparable brain left.

I agree completely. Whose whose life is it, anyway?

However, although it's fairly easy to get legal and medical assistance 
in Holland, it's still not a regular practice for doctors to assist 
someone who asks for his own death because he's 'just' suffering from 
Alzheimers. It still has to be someone whose illness causes 
'unacceptable suffering' and 'unbearable physical or psychological 
pain', whatever that may be. For example, if you want to be suspended 
'just to be ahead of time' and thus BEFORE you actually suffer from 
unbearable pains of complete psychological distress, it's not possible 
to get (legal) assistance for euthanasia in Holland.

In other words: there are some strict laws about this in Holland too, 
but there was never a time that the subject of euthanasia and the 
interpretation of 'death' and 'suffering' was so intensively discussed. 
And that certainly can be the beginning of a breakthrough.


Dick Nierop
---
þ CMPQwk #1.4þ UNREGISTERED EVALUATION COPY
    
>> SlipStream Jet v1.009 (Unregistered) - (C) 1995 PBE


Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=4125