by NexDev | October 14, 2016 | News, Old age and Dependency, Palliative care
The Netherlands intends to authorize assisted suicide for elderly people who feel they have “completed life” even though they are perfectly healthy.
In a joint letter sent to Parliament, the Dutch Health and Justice Ministers said that “people who have a well-considered opinion that their life is complete, must, under strict and careful criteria, be allowed to end their life in what appears to them to be a dignified manner.” The people concerned are those “who do not have the possibility to continue life in a meaningful way, who are struggling with the loss of independence and reduced mobility, and who have a sense of loneliness”.
This proposed text, which is not yet finalized, is intended for the elderly, yet the government did not define a threshold age. Ending lives will have to be put in the hands of “death assistance providers” or “specialist terminal carers”: individuals with a medical background and special training, who would authorize the procedure after verifying that no treatment could relieve their “death wish”. Following death, the procedure will be examined by a specialized committee.
Several political parties criticized the idea, and warned that such a law could lead to “pressure on elderly people, who will feel that they are a burden on their community.” Many Dutch people were troubled, raising fears over what might happen to “vulnerable, lonely, and desperate people”.
Euthanasia was legalized in 2002 in the Netherlands. The provisions implemented are regularly prone to interpretation and controversy, especially for euthanasia of individuals with mental illness or dementia, and for children as young as 12 years old.
Since euthanasia was legalized, the number of deaths by euthanasia has continually increased. Euthanasia accounted for 5,516 deaths in the Netherlands in 2015 which represents 3.9% of all deaths nationwide, compared to 3,136 cases 5 years earlier. Among these deaths, more than 70% were suffering from cancer and 2.9% from psychiatric illness or dementia.
Henri de Soos, Alliance VITA’s General Secretary declares:
« This country is going down a slippery slope. Legalizing euthanasia inevitably permeates a country with an “end of life” or “death” culture. It is worrying to see that according to a poll published at the beginning of the year, 64% of the Dutch population were in favor of having access to an “end of life” pill! According to this draft bill, people can request assisted suicide, without any medical reason whatsoever; just by demonstrating that they have carefully considered the act, and that their life is over? An ethical wake-up call is desperately needed to accompany people who are alone, elderly, and dependent. They most certainly need assistance, but a society who can only offer suicide as a solution to their difficulties is unworthy.”
by NexDev | October 12, 2016 | Medically Assisted Procreation
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) rejected the draft recommendation for surrogacy on October 11, 2016, following 2 years of discussion on this extremely controversial text.
This draft recommendation requested the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to formulate guidelines to protect children born from surrogacy, without explicitly condemning the practice of surrogacy itself.
This text has been through numerous hurdles and pitfalls, and along the way its objective was laid aside. The genuine subject is highly symbolic since it concerns an attack on Human Rights, for which the Council of Europe acts as commissioner and guardian.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) includes parliamentarians from 47 member States representing 820 million Europeans. In October 2014, the PACE agenda had scheduled a draft resolution regarding “Human Rights and ethical issues related to surrogacy”.
Unexpectedly, a fierce battle began when the rapporteur of this text, Belgian senator Petra De Sutter, was named. A potential conflict of interest was subsequently revealed since this senator, as a gynecologist, practices surrogacy in Belgium, where surrogacy is illegal although tolerated. Furthermore, professional links between Petra De Sutter and an Indian clinic were also revealed.
On March 15, 2016, the first draft resolution was rejected by the Committee on Social Affairs. It recommended drawing up guidelines for surrogacy, even though this unlawful practice violates human rights for women and children.
In a tense atmosphere, during the meeting on April 20, 2016 the same Committee re-elected the rapporteur. De Sutter then proposed drafting a text, which no longer corresponded to the initial proposal, restricting her study to condemning “commercial” surrogacy and defining legal guidelines for children born from surrogacy.
Then, last June, the Committee on Social Affairs decided to suspend its examination of the second draft report for procedural irregularity since some deputies had brought an action for successive inappropriate interpretations of the text.
The rapporteur finally submitted a modified report to the Committee for Social Affairs on September 21, 2016 in Paris. It was annexed with a draft resolution (text usually addressed to the member States to motivate them to take action) and a draft recommendation (text addressed to the Committee of Ministers and thereby to the respective governments): these texts only condemned “for-profit” surrogacy and were giving guidelines for supposedly “altruistic” surrogacy. Again the report was dismissed, as well as the draft resolution. Only the draft recommendation annexed to the resolution was adopted, with amendments to include all forms of surrogacy without discrimination.
In the Strasbourg plenary session held on October 11, 2016, the deputies dismissed the draft recommendation, thereby refusing any reference to Petra De Sutter’s propositions on surrogacy.
The texts at the Council of Europe are often elaborated without European citizens being aware of the issues or being involved. But on surrogacy, the rapporteur’s ambiguities and maneuvers have led non-partisan citizen groups to voice their opinion.
Backed by this momentum the international collective group No Maternity Traffic (of which Alliance VITA is an active member) was able to gather over 100,000 European signatures requesting to explicitly condemn all forms of surrogacy. This petition was validated by the Council of Europe in May 2016 and the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly called for the petition to be taken in to account during the debates.
Caroline Roux, Director of VITA International and member of No Maternity Traffic states: « We are relieved that this text was rejected since in essence it was a Trojan horse which would have implemented guidelines at an international level for surrogacy, without condemning its practice. The majority of the legislators were not eluded by this insidious snare to make them accept surrogacy to defend children’s rights, whereas this practice is totally opposed to the child’s best interest. Surrogacy is contrary to women and children’s rights. Whether performed for profit or not, surrogacy abuses children and causes them irreparable damage, and exploits women’s bodies making them enslaved. We are determined to continue our commitment with No Maternity Traffic for the universal prohibition of surrogacy, which is an unacceptable step backwards for Human Rights.”
For further information refer to:
http://www.nomaternitytraffic.eu/cp-maternite-de-substitution-no-maternity-traffic-salue-le-rejet-de-la-recommandation-par-le-conseil-de-leurope/
Voting results: http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/Votes/DB-VotesResults-FR.asp?VoteID=36189&DocID=16001&MemberID=
by NexDev | October 7, 2016 | Bioethics
A decree dated September 27, 2016 and published in the Official Journal on October 5, 2016 lists the new committee members appointed to the French National Consultative Ethics Committee for health and life sciences (CCNE). The mandate for half of the committee members had expired on April 13, 2016 and the appointment of the new members had been expected for several months. This procedure is provided for in the founding texts of the CCNE.
The 40 members of the CCNE, nominated for a 4-year (renewable) term have the task of “shedding light on scientific advances, pointing out new challenging social issues and observing changes from an ethical viewpoint. The committee constantly encourages reflection on bioethics by contributing to controversial discussions among citizens, without seeking to control the debate.”
The appointment of the new Committee members occurs at a time when many social issues, particularly Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) for female couples and singles, are being discussed in a tense atmosphere. The French President of the Republic declared that on this controversial subject he intends to follow the Committee’s recommendation, which has been awaited since 2013, in a considerable social turmoil. CCNE’s president, Jean Claude Ameisen, who is beginning his second term, has just declared: “This subject must be treated carefully and with no haste since it is the first time the Committee has examined it in a wider perspective: ART for female couples and single women, gamete donation and anonymity, conservation of oocytes, and surrogacy. These new appointments, with new viewpoints bring in fresh air. We hope to be able to make our recommendation on ART by the end of the year or the beginning of 2017”.
Furthermore, Jean-Claude Ameisen states that he might organize, by autumn 2017, «a national consultation on bioethics, and then produce a report on this subject before the legislators start revising the bioethics law.”
In 2013, the previous major reappointments generated surprise and anger: religious figures were evicted and replaced by lay members, and many members who could have been re-appointed were replaced by socialist figures. This could be seen as a political ploy designed by the government, and led Jean Leonetti to declare: “Instead of changing its’ position on major ethical issues, the government prefers to change its’ ethical committee.”
According to the journalist, Dr. Jean-Yves Nau: “Currently, the Committee is practically at a stand-still. No recommendations were made since last January, and the appointments of new members have been awaited since last April. Six unproductive months… The most malicious gossips said that this idle period was a political ploy of the government and the president; to avoid bringing to light social divisions on such a major issue as ART for single women and/or homosexuals; let the “Hydra-headed” surrogacy” sleep.
Alliance VITA’s General Delegate Tugdual Derville states:
“The primary responsibility of politicians is to protect the life and dignity of the most vulnerable people. To achieve this they need to be enlightened by experts and counselors, due to the growing complexity of subjects brought about by exponential changes in biotechnology. Provided, however, these elected officials do not hand over their bio-political responsibility on individuals who are not independent, some of whom are both judge and jury. Nowadays, this bio-political responsibility is essential for the future of humanity. Yet, this type of Committee has an inherent obligation to obtain consensual positions and this leads, all too often, either to give halfway conclusions (meaning they are not based on a clear anthropological viewpoint, but on ethical relativism), or to unclear positions, leading to differing interpretations. ‘c.f. the idea of: “exceptions for euthanasia”). In some cases, bioethics becomes the art of complicating simple things, as if to duck the issue so to speak. Did Robert Badinter really need an ethics committee to demand the abolition of the death penalty? We observe that, any bioethical position which strays from prohibiting killing as the founding principle of a social agreement, falls into ambiguity. This doesn’t prevent us from carefully reading the CCNE analyses, which are often very sound and to have a real dialogue with some members of the Committee for mutual clarification.
Neither an individual, nor a moral person can delegate to another the responsibilities or the principles which should guide his conscience”.
CCNE Composition (1 president and 39 members) :
Twelve figures are named for the first time to the CCNE, and 5 previously named members begin their second term.
Table:
5 individuals belonging to the “main philosophical and spiritual families”
19 individuals chosen for their “qualifications and interest in ethical problems”
15 individuals from the field of research
by NexDev | October 7, 2016 | Fertility and pregnancy, Maternity
A new draft law is creating quite a stir in the Netherlands. Rotterdam city council has called for “women judged to be incompetent” to be given compulsory contraception. This idea of deciding who has the right or not to become a parent was submitted by Hugo De Jonge, alderman responsible for Youth Welfare, (the equivalent of deputy mayor).
In this city, women judged to be incapable of raising children” could be given compulsory contraception. Thus, women suffering from psychological problems or addiction to drugs and/or alcohol, prostitutes, homeless or handicapped women would be forced to “have a coil fitted or a contraceptive implant” for 3 years by court order.
According to the city council, the program expects 10 to 20 women per year, to take compulsory contraception and be banned from pregnancy for a minimum of 3 years.
A prevention program for approximately 160 women considered « at risk » is already in place. These women are encouraged to use contraception and are followed-up on a regular basis.
This alarming initiative had previously been rejected in 2012 for ethical objections. It would also violate the right of respecting private and family life according to the European Convention of Human Rights. “Why use preventive measures to ban a person from having children rather than providing adequate support once the child is born?” exclaims Alexis Deswaef, President of the Belgian League of Human Rights.
Several Dutch political parties have also voiced their opposition: “it is a slippery slope that we do not want to slide down » writes Maarten van de Donk.
Caroline Roux, coordinator for Alliance VITA’s crisis center hot lines:
« It is essential to foster good conditions whereby children can be correctly cared for, but to forbid a woman to have a baby constitutes a very serious breach of authority. We can never separate solidarity from freedom and integrity. This law neglects women who are in a dire situation, instead of helping them, respectful of their dignity.”
by NexDev | October 7, 2016 | Old age and Dependency
The 7th Annual National Day for Caregivers was held on October 6, 2016. Throughout France a number of events took place to mark this event. This country alone has over 11 million caregivers: individuals who take care of a relative facing loss of autonomy, due to advanced age or a handicap. Included in this number are 4 million family caregivers.
According to a “BVA” survey¹ published yesterday by the APRIL Foundation, family caregivers are predominately working individuals (58%) the majority of whom are women (62%) taking care of a loved one free of charge, with 80% under 65 years old. More than half (53%) state taking take of a loved one due to old-age dependency, 33% for a sick family member, and 30% due to a handicap.
Paradoxically, this phenomenon is growing and is expected to increase dramatically, as one third of the population will be over 60 years of age by 2050, with many unknown variables yet to be discovered…
The main challenges that caregivers are confronted with while accompanying other individuals are: lack of time (35%), physical tiredness (26%) and the complexity of administrative procedures (22%). Nevertheless, 86% believe that their efforts “have a positive impact” for improving the quality of life and the relationship with the individual, even boosting their moral.
How to “care for caregivers”?
Companies are becoming increasingly aware of this issue. To give time off to their salaried workers, some have chosen to give anonymous gifts of vacation and overtime days (allowed by the 2014 “Mathys” law). Other ideas are emerging. For example, companies such as Mutex or ASAP organize workshops on accompaniment for workers and companies on the subject of advanced age.
Since January 2016, the French Act on Adapting Society to an ageing population grants caregivers a “right for a respite period”, an allowance up to 500 € per year to spend a few days in a specialized center or to have a few extra hours of home help assistance.
Next year salaried caregivers will also benefit from a “caregiver’s vacation” for a renewable 3-month period, in order to better “reconciliate professional and personal life”, according to Pascale Boistard, French Minister of State in charge of Elderly People and Adult Care.
Henri de Soos, Director of Alliance VITA’s SOS End of Life ² Crisis Center confirms:
“Those who contact us either by mail or by telephone, are often caregivers of individuals who are going through a difficult time at the end of life. Caregivers play a major role in accompanying a parent, a neighbour or a friend, with discretion, perseverance and vigilant tenderness. We realize the extent of their daily implication, but also their inner suffering when faced with unpredictable, uncontrollable situations. Sometimes, the weight is too heavy to bear, and we advise them to take some time off for themselves, to step back, and to accept support. Otherwise, a situation of burn-out may occur, leading to conflicts with other family members or with medical professionals. Caring for caregivers is a genuine goal of national solidarity and public health.”
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¹ According to a telephone survey carried out 20-21 May and 27-28 May 2016 representing 2008 individuals (quota method). This sample population included 385 caregivers and 1623 non-caregivers.
² Web site SOS End of Life: http://www.sosfindevie.org
