An intensive care unit in Belgium. Labour MP Robert Flello said: 'I think we face a real humanitarian crisis in those countries which have euthanasia or assisted suicide' (Photo: AP) <\/p>\n
The case will be examined by Dutch prosecutors to see if a crime has been committed <\/p>\n
Dutch prosecutors are being asked to examine the case of an elderly woman who was reportedly drugged and then pinned down while a doctor pumped lethal drugs into her body. <\/p>\n
A female doctor has been formally reprimanded for performing the act of euthanasia because the patient was suffering from dementia and could not properly consent. <\/p>\n
When the woman was first diagnosed with dementia four years ago she had indicated that she was willing to end her life by euthanasia but not now. <\/p>\n
Her nursing home decided the moment had arrived when her condition deteriorated and she began to wander the wards at night and behave aggressively. <\/p>\n
The doctor reportedly drugged the womans coffee to calm her down, an act the regional euthanasia assessment committee decided was wrong. <\/p>\n
The doctor also allegedly asked the womans family to hold her down when she reacted negatively to the procedure, and ripped out the drip carrying the euthanasia drugs. <\/p>\n
The assessment committee said the doctor had crossed a line and has passed the case to prosecutors who will decide if a crime has been committed. <\/p>\n
The forcible euthanasia represents the first case involving a doctor to be referred to the Dutch prosecution service. <\/p>\n
Dutch law, which dates from 2002, permits euthanasia only in cases of unbearable and untreatable suffering but it is increasingly used on people with dementia and mental health problems. <\/p>\n
The latest euthanasia figures from Holland show that the number of mental health patients killed by euthanasia has quadrupled in just four years. <\/p>\n
Last year it emerged that an alcoholic and a victim of child sex abuse were killed by euthanasia. <\/p>\n
The latest figures also show that the 2015 total of euthanasia deaths some 5,306 cases represents a leap of 50 per cent in the last five years. <\/p>\n
The case has emerged as a new study has predicted that Canadas new euthanasia laws, which closely resemble those in the Netherlands, could cut as much as 84 million from its annual health budget. <\/p>\n
Researchers from the University of Calgary identified the substantial savings that could be made from reducing end-of-life care. <\/p>\n
The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, said that health care at the end of life was intensive and could go on for months. <\/p>\n
Euthanasia, however, would cost the state just 15 per patient. <\/p>\n
Robert Flello, the Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent South and a Catholic, said the implications of the study were absolutely horrific. <\/p>\n
It reinforces anecdotal evidence coming out of Holland that doctors are rationing health care by using euthanasia, said Mr Flello, a co-chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group. <\/p>\n
Quite frankly, it terrifies me, he said. We have issues with bed-blocking and if we ever had euthanasia or even so-called assisted dying in this country then we would have a real issue with cuts to our NHS being softened by actually just killing people off. <\/p>\n
I find the prospect simply terrifying. <\/p>\n
Mr Flello also severely criticised the forcible euthanasia of the elderly dementia sufferer in Holland, adding: I think we face a real humanitarian crisis in those countries which have euthanasia or assisted suicide and quite frankly I dont want that appalling situation here. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Doctor 'asked family to hold down struggling euthanasia victim' - Catholic Herald Online<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An intensive care unit in Belgium. Labour MP Robert Flello said: 'I think we face a real humanitarian crisis in those countries which have euthanasia or assisted suicide' (Photo: AP) The case will be examined by Dutch prosecutors to see if a crime has been committed Dutch prosecutors are being asked to examine the case of an elderly woman who was reportedly drugged and then pinned down while a doctor pumped lethal drugs into her body. Continue reading