Swiss firm to allow euthanasia of elderly on demand

It is now okay to euthanize people in Switzerland merely because they are old and may have "physical or psychological problems associated with old age," in Switzerland according to The Guardian. A Swiss organization that helps people end their own lives has updated its policies to allow the elderly to be euthanized.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - A report in The Guardian has announced that the Swiss organization "Exit" has updated its rules to permit the facilitation of suicide for elderly people even if they are not terminally ill. Under Swiss law, assisted suicide is legal and anyone, even a healthy youth can request it, but it is provided by various organizations that have their own rules.

Exit has changed its rules to permit "suicide due to old age" following an annual general meeting. The rule change would allow any senior citizen, even without a terminal illness, to end their own life on demand.

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The Swiss Medical Association told The Guardian that they did not support the change, concerned that the elderly could be pressured to take their own lives.

This is the culture of death, which begins with abortion, extended to its logical conclusion. Once abortion in the womb is legal and life is a commodity that can be extinguished at will, the euthanasia of otherwise healthy adults becomes legitimate.

It also degrades the essence of humanity by promoting the notion that the value of one's life is attached to their productivity. Since elderly people no longer produce resources, but simply consume them, as children do, people may find economic reasons to nudge the elderly in a particular direction.

Exit assured The Guardian that the change was prompted by a number of elderly people who were seeking assisted suicide but were deterred by the protective barriers established by Swiss law.

"Our members told us to get active on this subject. It was ripe for a decision," Exit's vice-president, Bernhard Sutter, told the paper. "Assisted suicide is a lengthy process. Doctors must take tests and talk to patients for hours asking them to justify their motivations. Old patients feel they do not have the energy for all of this and it is also not so dignified.

Euthanasia proponents go to great lengths to conceal their agenda, referring to assisted suicide as "death with dignity" which implies that the process of natural death is somehow undignified.

The change follows a high-profile case in which a Swiss man, 89, asked to end his own life but refused a requisite medical examination. A euthanasia machine was prescribed to him and he ended his life which led to charges being filed against the physician who failed to perform the examination. However, the physician was acquitted because the patient refused the examination himself.

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Now, elderly people who insist upon suicide can choose the option for themselves without having to cooperate with doctors, even if the doctors seek to perform evaluations.

When will we learn to respect life?

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