Council of State: End of Life Voluntary Initiative Act not yet good enough

The voluntary private member account is still not good enough. In an advisory report, the Council of State writes that more guarantees are needed to determine whether people really qualify for euthanasia.

Opinion was already accepted in December 2020, but will only be published today. The private member proposal was introduced in July 2020.

The law should allow the euthanasia of elderly people over 75 who are not seriously ill or terminally ill, but who are suffering helplessly and unbearably. A number of requirements must also be met.

According to the Council of State, the current bill cannot exclude the possibility of euthanasia for persons who do not really want to die, who have not given it enough thought or whose death wish is linked to other problems that can be solved. monetary affairs.

Doubts about the age limit

The Council of State also expresses its doubts about the age of 75. According to the highest advisory body, there is insufficient evidence why the limit should be at this age. The organization writes that the desire to end lives may also play a role in the 55-75 age group.

The private member’s proposal also stipulates that there must be a minimum of two months to allow for the delay between the first and the last request. The Council of State believes that two months is not enough to demonstrate that the death wish is “stable and consistent”.

D66

The exclusive members’ bill was introduced in 2020 by D66 member Pia Dijkstra, who has since left. “There is a group of old people who see their lives coming to an end,” Dijkstra said in an AD interview at the time. “They say I sleep every night hoping I don’t wake up.”

D66 does not want to respond yet and says it will first go through the announcement in detail.