“Caritas rejects the current tendencies to legalise active euthanasia”, declared the President of German Caritas, Peter Neher, at Freiburg on 21 October. Neher also welcomed the decision of the Federal Minister for Health, Ulla Schmidt, to increase investments for the development of palliative treatments. “Declarations like that of the senator of Hamburg for justice, Roger Kusch, in favour of the legalization of active euthanasia, on the other hand, are grist to the mill of the proponents of active euthanasia”, he added, commenting: “The chronically ill are not helped in this way. Experiences in hospices and in the structures of Caritas demonstrate just the opposite. Patients suffering from incurable illnesses wish to be accompanied and assisted in their way. They don’t want to have their life terminated prematurely. Rather, they want to die without pain and not alone”. In Germany there exist over 1400 hospice ambulance services and 120 fixed ones, of which 57 fall under the responsibility of Caritas. Neher expressed the fear that “the legalization of active euthanasia” could lead to “increased pressure on the ill to acquiesce to an end being put to their existence”. On the contrary, he stressed, “the incurably ill and their loved ones have a need for support and accompaniment. They cannot be sidelined”. In this regard, Neher said, German Caritas is dedicated to ensuring that the impulses of activities in the hospices and of palliative treatment are implemented in all healthcare structures and mobile medical assistance services”.
