Legalizing euthanasia is a decision that contradicts the very heart of a society, founded on the “fundamental respect for human life and especially for that of the more vulnerable”. So say the bishops of Belgium in a statement issued concerning the law on euthanasia approved by parliament last week after a long battle. With the decision to legalize euthanasia declare the bishops “Belgium has become one of the rare countries in the world where it is legal deliberately to kill a human being”. At this point add the bishops “the value and the dignity of a human being are no longer linked to his/her existence but to what is called his/her ‘quality of life'”. Although the law does not compel anyone to practice euthanasia add the bishops “we fear that the sick may suffer significant pressure in certain cases”. The bishops also raise the question relating to the role of physicians and ask: “will [the practice of euthanasia] not risk alienating the sense of their profession?” and in the case of conscientious objection, “will the hospitals that refuse to practice euthanasia be left in peace?”. “The Church says the statement has expressed herself on various occasions and unequivocally against any useless prolongation of life, i.e. against the use of aggressive medical treatment. No one denies that the suffering of patients needs to be avoided: the question is whether this may be achieved by killing someone”. The bishops urge the medical profession instead to progress in the use of, and research into, forms of palliative treatment.
