Brave new world? Belgian twins 'legally' euthanized

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[link to www.depauliaonline.com]

Late last year identical Belgian twins Marc and Eddy Verbessem, 45, who were born deaf and with spinal problems, were diagnosed with incoming blindness. Upon this diagnosis, they decided that their lives were not worth living anymore, and they were legally euthanized Dec. 14.

This case subsequently caused an uproar in the world of medical ethics. Physician assisted suicide, already a touchy subject, is usually reserved in rare cases for the terminally ill, but the Verbessem twins were not diagnosed with a terminal disease.

Some would even go so far as to suggest that making assisted suicide more acceptable would lead to a slippery slope whereby there would be social acceptance of euthanasia of the disabled, elderly or other marginalized demographics. The National Federation of the Blind expressed this concern in a statement about the 45-year-old Verbessems.

“This disturbing news [of the twins] is a stark example of the common, and in this case tragic, misunderstanding of disability and its consequences,” the statement said. “Adjustment to any disability is difficult … but it has been known that these challenges can be met. That these men wanted to die is tragic; that the state sanctioned and aided their suicide is frightening.”

As of today, there have been 5,500 cases of in Belgium since they legalized it in 2002, although it must be noted that not one of these cases had been referred to the police.

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