Interesting to hear that. But isn't there a minimum age?
You must be of age. Only the Netherlands and Belgium allow assisted suicide for minors.
Interesting to hear that. But isn't there a minimum age?
The report states that this case remains exceptional and that euthanasia is reserved for extreme cases: the fact that two and a half years have passed from the extension of the euthanasia law to sick minors to this first implementation is proof of this . Distelmans said: "Fortunately there are only a few children who are being considered for euthanasia, but this does not mean we should refuse them a dignified death." In the Belgian law on euthanasia it is written that requests for help in dying can only be heard if sick minors have a medical situation where they experience "terrible physical suffering" and if they have asked several times to be able to die. Psychiatric illnesses are excluded from the pathologies considered by the law, and the suffering referred to must also be exclusively physical. Euthanasia is also legal in other countries, but only in Belgium can it be practiced regardless of age, which has obviously been questioned by many people, including religious people and paediatricians, who are doubtful about whether a child can get a such a decision. Even in the Netherlands it can be requested by minors under 18, but only if they are over 12: between 12 and 16 the consent of their parents or guardians is also necessary, between 16 and 18 it is not necessary even if the parents and guardians must still be consulted
Swiss
It was the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that made public the case of Marta, a 55-year-old academic from Turin who died last October in Basel. Devastated by the death of her teenage son after a long illness, the woman had long expressed the desire to end it. The family then managed to change her mind. Or at least, that's how it seemed. Until the trip to Switzerland, which he chose to keep secret. Hundreds of kilometers away in the UK, another case was recently reported by the Mail on Sunday. Chemistry teacher Alastair Hamilton, 47, was tormented by health problems for which tests and medical consultations had found no explanation. Hamilton told his family he was going to visit a friend in Paris. He died in August 2022 in Basel with the help of Pegasos Swiss Association. The family's statements are harsh, accusing the organization of "behaving like a cowboy".
Il caso di Marta, venuta in Svizzera per porre fine ai suoi giorni, ha destato scalpore in Italia. La famiglia non ne sapeva nulla. Qual è la prassi in simili casi?
www.swissinfo.ch
