New Drive for Euthanasia Revives Bitter Debate in Europe

Assisted death of Belgian twins who weren’t terminally ill reflects changing laws

By Jonathan Luxmoore - OSV Newsweekly, 2/10/2013

At a small Quaker hall in the prosperous small town of Charlbury, England, just north of Oxford, 30 residents listen politely as Sir Terence English, retired head of the prestigious British Medical Association, drily sets out his wares. 

An Assisted Dying Bill permitting euthanasia is due to be debated shortly in Britain’s House of Lords. The meeting, organized by Dignity in Dying, is just one of many taking place locally to drum up public support. 

With similar laws now pending in several countries, Catholic Church representatives are urging caution. 

“For our Church’s magisterium, the beginning and end of life represent non-negotiable values,” Thierry Bonaventura, media officer of the Council of European Bishops Conferences (CCEE), told Our Sunday Visitor. “Yet the issues surrounding euthanasia are often quite technical and hard to understand, especially when not all governments and parliaments appear much open to public dialogue on them. Very often, it comes down to the consciences of individual doctors.”

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