die with dignity
the right to choose the moment of death
Former Dutch Supreme Court judge and professor of civil law
Huib Drion made a plea in 1991 to provide suicide pills free of charge to old
people who themselves wanted to put an end to their lives. This came to be known
as ‘Drion’s pill’. “It appears to me that many old people would find
great reassurance if they could have a means to end their lives in an acceptable
way at the moment that to them appears suitable,” Drion said. ...
“The discussion about life and death never ends,” is the opinion of former Minister of Health Els Borst. “Why should you think that this is against God’s will? I find that then you are being formalistically in the interpretation of what people may and may not do, according to God. People can be allowed to endlessly prolong life and develop all sorts of medicine. It is difficult to believe in a God who says: ‘You may let him die one week later’ and not ‘You may let him die one week earlier’. That I cannot understand.” ...