Writer Hugo Claus dies by euthanasia

[L.J]

Writer Hugo Claus dies by euthanasia



VETERAN Belgian author Hugo Claus, considered one of the most important contemporary Dutch language authors, has died by euthanasia aged 78, his publisher announced.

The author of the 1983 novel The Sorrow of Belgium had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease when he died today in hospital in Antwerp, northern Belgium.
It was known that the Bruges native had requested euthanasia, which is authorised in Belgium and the Netherlands.
His Dutch publishing house, De Bezige Bij (The Busy Bee), said in the name of the writer's family that he had chosen the exact time of his death.
"He stipulated the moment of his death and asked for euthanasia," it said, without giving details.
"Hugo Claus leaves an impressive body of work," the publisher said.
"He was endowed with an inimitable imagination and unbounded confidence. He worked equally well in poetry and theatre as in prose and received numerous literary prizes including the Dutch order of letters in 1986."
With a reputation as a non-conformist, the multi-talented Claus was also a poet, painter, playwright and film director.
The provocative Sorrow of Belgium was an unsentimental look at Belgium and its collaborators during World War II when the country was invaded by Nazi Germany.
His name was often linked to the Nobel Literature prize though he had given up hope of ever winning.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23406962-401,00.html?from=public_rss






Wow this is a book that is on my to read list.


But this news article sparks a question I know is debated a lot around the world at the moment.


Should euthanasia be avaliable as a legal option for people?
What are your thoughts?

 

[elusive moonwalker]

Should euthanasia be avaliable as a legal option for people?
What are your thoughts?

of course. but it happens anyway in hospitals. doctors up morhine to help ppl on their way or decide not to continue with treatment with families consent.just keeping them comfortable etc.

 

[L.J]

^ couldn't that be a dangerous thing for the doctors to do though? I wouldn't imagine that they would be covered legally if the family then decide to sue you know if they have like second thoughts or regrets.... cause people can do strange things during the grieving period.


I personally think people should be allowed to opt for being euthanised, if they have passed that point of no return with their condition. :yes:

 

[raisa]

Wow, I'm suprised this news reached the other side of the world
I never read a book of Hugo Claus (I think I was too young and wouldn't understand it anyway)but I love reading and I'd love to read 'het verdriet van België' (= The Sorrow of Belgium).
I think that euthanasia should be allowed. I do think that you have to have it written down or something before you really start deteriorating. But I think it's a good idea that you can choose for yourself that, when you have to dependent on everybody, or when you have to live like a plant, you would like to step out of the world.

 

[Dutchie]

^ couldn't that be a dangerous thing for the doctors to do though? I wouldn't imagine that they would be covered legally if the family then decide to sue you know if they have like second thoughts or regrets.... cause people can do strange things during the grieving period.


I personally think people should be allowed to opt for being euthanised, if they have passed that point of no return with their condition. :yes:

In the case of Euthenasia, the patient has to sign an agreement (obviously during the time they are conscious and can make rational decisions) beforehand.

However what someone else said about the Morphine is true also. If someone does not have the ability to speak for themselves and is practically a vegetable sometimes families can decide to up the morphine. They have to give explicit permission though, and sign papers.

 

[L.J]

From what I understand, euthanasia is a legal option within both Belgium and Holland it's however not legal in most countries.

I know currently that a lot of people are pushing for this to be made a legal practice in Australia and I know that this is also a hot topic in a america.

I was reading about the recent euthanasia plea that was rejected of a french woman recently and I felt that the rejection of allowing her to end her own life was almost against human rights.... allow me to share the news article I read last week:


Chantal Sebire's euthanasia plea rejected

From correspondents in France
March 18, 2008 03:18am

• Chantal Sebire's euthanasia plea rejected
• Suffering rare cancer that has left her disfigured
• Says she'll find other means to end her life

A FRENCH court has rejected a request from a 52-year-old severely disfigured former schoolteacher for the right to die, in a case that has stirred much emotion in France.
The high court in Dijon, eastern France, decided to side with the prosecution which argued current legislation does not allow Chantal Sebire's doctor to prescribe lethal drugs.

In her appeal to the court, Ms Sebire said she did not want to endure further pain and subject herself to an irreversible worsening of her condition. She asked the court to allow her doctor to help her end her life.

A mother of three who lives in the Bourgogne region of eastern France, Ms Sebire drew a strong outpour of sympathy when she appealed in a television interview last month for the right to "depart peacefully''.

Before-and-after pictures of the woman, her face severely deformed, have been featured in the press and her account of frightened children who run away at the sight of her has drawn sympathy.
Ms Sebire learnt in 2002 that she had developed an esthesioneuroblastoma, an uncommon malignant tumour in the nasal cavity, which she said has led to "atrocious'' suffering.

"In 2000, I lost the sense of smell and taste ... and I lost my sight in October 2007,'' she said in the television interview.

"One would not allow an animal to go through what I have endured,'' she said before urging President Nicolas Sarkozy to intervene and grant her request.

Commenting on the case, Justice Minister Rachida Dati said last week doctors were not there to prescribe lethal drugs.

Legislation adopted in 2005 allows families to request life-support equipment for a terminally-ill patient be switched off, but does not allow a doctor to take action to end a patient's life.

Mr Sarkozy asked his chief adviser on health issues to contact Ms Sebire and seek a second opinion on her condition.

Ms Sebire has said she will not appeal the decision rendered today and she would find life-terminating drugs through other means.

"I now know how to get my hands on what I need and if I don't get it in France, I will get it elsewhere,'' she said.

Only 200 cases of the disease have been recorded worldwide in two decades.

Please be aware uncomfortable/distressing image of Ms Sebire located on the source page:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23394290-401,00.html



I would like to think doctors are there to provide the correct treatment.

We understand when an animal must be put down because the vet cannot "cure" or save the animal from more distress and pain, yet in most places in the world, we cannot allow rational sensible people to make this decision for themselves, or for their loved ones.

I can't imagine that this would be an easy choice for someone like Ms Sebire to make.