Es ist den Menschen bestimmt, einmal zu sterben

Abstract

It is determined to die once

In the field of euthanasia, nothing can be felt by like guild within Europe. In the convention on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms (ECHR), Art. 2 (right to life) and Art. 8 (respect for self -determination in personal life) are important for the question of euthanasia. In its case law, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg explains that the contracting states have a broad discretion with regard to the way the protection of the life of patients is designed in a hopeless situation. Consequently, legislation in the field of euthanasia can be found in a variety of ways. In the Netherlands, a new Article 293 of the Criminal Code was put into force on April 1, 2002, as a result of which the implementation of euthanasia on the condition of the fulfillment of certain care criteria in the Netherlands is no longer (more) punishable, subject to an assessment by a review committee. The request and the well -informationed consensus of the patient (along with some others) play a decisive role under these care criteria. In recent practice, the question of the legal situation raised when the patient has clearly and clearly certified his will to die, but is now at a stadium of advanced disease (dementia, Alzheimer's), in which no more independent will form or reliable will arisen. Can the doctor, provided that the other careful conditions are sufficiently observed, still meet a predetermined written request for termination of life? The Dutch High Council answered this question carefully in a judgment of April 21, 2020. This judgment is discussed, as is the first comments in the press and in the specialist literature.