The bill, which aims to allow seniors over the age of 75 to voluntarily end their lives under supervision, does not meet due diligence requirements to prevent people from doing so in a hurry. The board’s advice dates back to December 2020, but was only published on Friday.
According to the European Convention on Human Rights, the government is obligated to protect citizens from accelerated, involuntary or unconscious termination of life. The council notes that the desire to die should be “stable and coherent”, and not be motivated by “solvable problems of an entirely different nature, such as financial problems”. The top advisory body is also questioning the minimum age of 75, and wants to see better research-based proof out there.
The bill is in principle ready for discussion by Parliament, but the Council considers the proposal to be inappropriate as it is and recommends that it not be discussed or amended.
“The Council of State is making a number of relevant observations,” D66 Member of Parliament Paul van Menen said in response. According to him, the party “is now taking the time to study the advice intensively and carefully.” “Since our party’s founding, we have been working on taboo proposals that make a difference in people’s lives. The freedom for people to make their own decisions is an important starting point. This also applies to basic end-of-life choices.”
The completed life law comes from former D66 MP Pia Dijkstra, who is also sensitive within the coalition. This is mainly due to CU’s strong opposition. Before the new government was appointed, USSR leader Geert Jan Segers had already made it clear that his party would not sign the controversial proposal. So it was agreed in the coalition agreement to make such delicate medical ethical issues a free choice.
