The German
parliament, the Bundestag, has passed legislation regulating assisted suicide.
DW's John Berwick believes the debate was a milestone in German political
culture.
Deutsche Welle, 6 Nov 2015
The debate
was long and intense, punctuated by moments of deep soul-searching. Not just
Friday's three-hour Bundestag session, but the discussions at all levels of
German society over the past two years. The question of whether "assisted
dying" should be regulated, and if so, how, challenges our core political
und ethical values, and it affects each one of us personally. That makes it all
the more remarkable that this debate was conducted in a calm and respectful
atmosphere.
The most
valuable result is that it has lifted the taboo on the subject of dying.
Germans have learned to talk about the problems surrounding death and have
become more aware of the need to make a Living Will, stipulating what should be
done if they are not able to tell doctors what life-extending measures they
want or don't want. It has also highlighted the need for Germany to invest in
palliative medicine and hospices, and the Bundestag passed legislation to
improve that situation yesterday.
 |
| DW's John Berwick |
Today's law
finally clarifies the situation of doctors who have been caught between
legality and professional ethics. Suicide was decriminalized in Germany nearly
150 years ago.
As a legal
consequence, assisting somebody to commit suicide was also no longer
punishable. However, a number of regional medical boards were prepared to
strike doctors off the record if they hastened the death of a patient, even at
the patient's own request. The new legislation now resolves that anomaly.
Most
importantly, however, the new law prohibits the commercialization of suicide:
businesses disguised as humanitarian organizations, which profit from
administering lethal medication. The condemnation of such practices and the
fear that a "normalization" of suicide, such as exists in Holland or
Switzerland, could put severely disabled people and the terminally ill under pressure
to end their lives, was a significant factor in the bill being passed by an
overwhelming majority.
Of course,
a minority will be disappointed on both sides of the political-ethical
spectrum: those who oppose any legalization of assisting suicide at all and
those who want maximum liberalization of the law. However, the great
achievement of this legislation is that it respects the right of an individual
to choose death, without in any way "normalizing" suicide. It
approaches the intimate sphere of the individual conscience with deep respect,
acknowledging that Germany is a pluralistic society in which we are able to
show compassion and understanding for each other, even if we disagree on
whether suicide can ever be ethical.
John Bewick
is the religious affairs editor of Deutsche Welle's English service.
Related Article:
No comments:
Post a Comment