Liberal-minded Mexican parliamentarians are going to allow doctors to kill terminally ill patients if they ask for it. On Friday, the Mexican parliament begins discussing the issue of legalizing euthanasia, Reuters reports. Supporters of euthanasia claim that the bill already has enough support and is expected to be passed within a few weeks. Then the document must be approved by Congress, after which it will be sent to President Felipe Calderon for signature.
At the same time, parliamentarians say they are not introducing anything new into the country's life – because euthanasia is already practiced in Mexico – 'if not openly in public clinics, then in criminal medicine.' In this regard, they give another argument in defense of their bill: legalizing euthanasia will help doctors of seriously ill patients avoid criminal liability. First and foremost, legislators pursue humane goals and meet the wishes of terminally ill patients who most often ask to end their suffering. 'We want to give everyone the right to a dignified death, because death is the last human freedom,' said one of the authors of the bill, Senator Lazaro Mazón, a surgeon by profession.
However, it is possible that even if the bill passes all stages of voting, it will not receive the approval of the President of Mexico. Felipe Calderon is not only a conservative but also openly supports the Catholic Church. Catholics have always opposed any initiatives to legalize what the church considers immoral, be it abortion, same-sex unions, or euthanasia. Liberals hope that the head of state will not go against the political majority.
Currently, euthanasia is legally permitted only in the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, Israel, and the US state of Oregon, Reuters reports. In April of this year, the Swedish Society of Medicine developed ethical rules in favor of passive euthanasia, where the doctor does not intervene in the patient's life to hasten death, but at the patient's request does not provide necessary assistance. This concerns, ITAR-TASS explains, breathing through a respirator, dialysis, and feeding via a tube.
In Switzerland, euthanasia in hospital settings was allowed in 2005. Later, in addition to patients with terminal diagnoses, doctors were allowed to end the lives of the mentally ill. 'It should be recognized that an incurable, persistent, severe mental disorder can cause the same suffering as a physical one, making the patient's further life unbearable,' said the court ruling that made the decision. 'If the desire to die is based on an independent decision that takes into account all circumstances, then a mentally ill person can be prescribed sodium ethaminal and thus assisted in suicide.'
The first clinics where euthanasia practitioners began practicing opened in Lausanne, but their clients often became citizens of other countries. The term 'death tourism' even emerged. In the case of Mexico, clients of euthanasia clinics may also not be local residents, but, for example, American neighbors.
In 2005, the French Senate also passed a bill on legalizing passive euthanasia. A year later, patients in the UK were allowed to refuse treatment. In addition, the Anglican Church approved the 'killing' of infants born with defects or premature. Bishop Tom Butler said that cases where a non-viable child should be left to die are 'compassionate.' Children were also allowed to be killed when the costs of maintaining their lives were high. According to British doctors, who mostly supported the killing of premature infants, this could reduce the number of late-term abortions, since women would have a chance to decide whether their disabled child should live after birth or be killed.
The strictest bans on euthanasia are in Catholic countries, such as Italy. The Vatican teaches that human life must be preserved from its inception to its natural end, and it is not given to a doctor to decide whether to prolong or end a patient's life.
Elena GORLANOVA.
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