Growing number of seniors fear being euthanized, group reports

Wellington, New Zealand, Feb 8, 2007 / 09:22 am

Family Life International says an increasing number of elderly New Zealanders are concerned about being euthanized by medical staff.
 
“In the last 12 months, we have seen a marked increase in enquiries from people who want to know what they can do to legally protect themselves from people like Dr. [Philip] Nitschke, who believes that medical staff should be allowed to kill patients,” says Family Life International media spokesperson Brendan Malone.
 
The Australian medical doctor founded Exit International, a pro-euthanasia organization, in 1997. The group actively lobbies for pro-euthanasia legislation.

“Older New Zealanders appear to be particularly frightened by the increasing promotion of euthanasia, which promotes the false idea that elderly people are a burden on society and that it is a good thing to prematurely end their lives,” Malone said.
 
“Dr. Philip Nitschke’s claims that you can have safe and legal euthanasia are completely countered by the experience of the Netherlands, where, since the advent of decriminalized euthanasia, thousands of people have been euthanized without giving consent, and many elderly people are scared of hospitals and doctors.”

Family Life International offers a generic patient protection document that many people have adopted and specified for their own situation.
 
“Patient protection documents allow people to take legal steps to protect themselves from the ever increasing threat of euthanasia” says Malone.