German Court Liberalizes Rules for Right to Die Cases

Description: [of the article from the New York Times]

The report begins: BERLIN - In a landmark ruling that will make it easier for people to allow relatives and other loved ones to die, Germany's highest court ruled Friday that it was not a criminal offense to cut off life-sustaining treatment for a patient.

The court overturned the conviction of a lawyer who last year was found guilty of attempted manslaughter for advising a client to sever the intravenous feeding tube that was keeping her mother alive, although in a persistent vegetative state. The mother had told her daughter that she did not wish to be kept alive artificially.

The verdict is likely to spur significant changes in the practice of assisted suicide and is certain to restart the debate over euthanasia and the right to die in Germany.

In its decision, the court clearly distinguished between "killing with the aim of terminating life" and an action that "let a patient die with his or her own consent." The ruling strengthens an individual's right to die with dignity, since terminating life-sustaining treatments will no longer be a crime if patients have declared their wishes.

The report goes on to explain some background.

[There is information in the Notes section below.]
[There are other related stories in the Links section below.]

Links:

To read the full article click on one of these links, both of which go to the same destination. A short link is provided for the convenience of readers. Also, readers may search and browse past and future advisories on the web (see bottom.)

  • http://tinyurl.com/33fczwp

  • http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/26/world/europe/26berlin.html

    Also see:

  • International News: Germany Clarifies Assisted-Dying Laws [Dying With Dignity Canada blog]
    http://dwdcanada.blogspot.com/2010/06/international-news-germany-clarifies.html

    In a landmark ruling that will make it easier for people to allow relatives and loved ones to die, Germany's highest court ruled today that it is not a criminal offense to cut off life-sustaining treatment for a patient.

    The verdict is likely to spur significant changes in the practice of assisted suicide and is certain to restart the debate over euthanasia and the right to die in Germany. In its decision, the court clearly distinguished between "killing with the aim of terminating life" and an action, "which let a patient die with his or her own consent."

    The ruling strengthens the individual's right to die with dignity, since terminating life-sustaining treatments will no longer be a crime if patients have declared their wishes. Lawyer, Wolfgang Putz says: "It protects against abuse and it sets down clear boundaries. It helps the patients and it helps the doctors. It takes away at last the fear of punishment."

Source:

Homola, Victor and Nicholas Kulish. "German Court Liberalizes Rules for Right to Die Cases". The New York Times. Published: June 25, 2010. <www.nytimes.com/2010/06/26/world/europe/26berlin.html.> New York Times, The New York Times Company, 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10018, U.S.A.

Tags:

Tags (or keywords) briefly indicate some major topics of the report.

  • food and water

  • medical treatment

  • judicial decision

  • right-to-die

  • Germany

Notes:

  • Free copies of "Final Exit" for American libraries [World right-to-die news list]
    http://lists.opn.org/pipermail/right-to-die_lists.opn.org/2010-June/003941.html

    Derek Humphry writes: As I've reported on this ERGO news list before, a supporter bequeathed a large sum of money so that ERGO could distribute complimentary copies of the book 'Final Exit' to US public lending libraries now that their acquisition budgets are being cut so severely.

    We now have a web site up by which a library may ask for a free copy. http://www.finalexitforlibraries.com/

    If you know people in the library field, or have contact with your local library, please tell them of this remarkable site. We are already in the process of distributing hundreds of copies to libraries.

ID:

The EuthaNEWSia ID for this advisory is: enid201006290315.
Mailed: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 14:22:13 -0600
at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Etcetera:

EuthaNEWSia is a free Canadian news advisory service covering end-of-life issues such as right to die, assisted suicide, and euthanasia. EuthaNEWSia is produced by the Right to Die Society of Canada which works toward a good death for all, including open, regulated and equitable access to euthanasia and assisted suicide. The editor is Michael Dawson <editor@euthanewsia.ca>. 

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