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Affirm Dignity | End Euthanasia

Who has dignity? What does it mean for us to affirm the inherent dignity of every person? What does 'dying with dignity' really mean?

Learn more about the growing community of people who seek to Affirm Dignity

We believe that all people have inherent dignity, no matter their age or health condition. A fair and just society cares for its most vulnerable. Once we open the door to intentional killing, there is no logical stopping point. This is not just a hypothesis. In countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands, euthanasia cases have increased a hundredfold since legalization.

Euthanasia Laws Around The World

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Affirm Dignity | End Euthanasia

Charter

The right to life is a fundamental and inherent human right, recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and guaranteed by all human rights treaties. People at all stages of life and in all regions of the world are increasingly vulnerable to assaults on this foundational right. Without respect for human life, there can be no respect for human dignity. The most vulnerable deserve our compassionate love and support. There is nothing progressive about a society that refuses to care for them.

Therefore, we:

affirm that the right to life cannot include a right to die;

deplore the promotion of practices like euthanasia or assisted suicide;

consider every suicide a tragedy, and we recall the international obligation on States to take measures to prevent suicide;

denounce the slippery slope of legalized euthanasia which results in pressure on the vulnerable to die;

condemn the application of euthanasia to children, vulnerable adults, and those who have not given their consent;

believe society owes those suffering better options than euthanasia, such as palliative care;

affirm that palliative care is prevention and relief of suffering, which does not hasten nor postpone death (as defined by the World Health Organization);

call for the prohibition of euthanasia and assisted suicide and further investment in compassionate alternatives which Affirm Dignity.

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The Legalization of Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

International law robustly protects the right to life—particularly for the most vulnerable. The threat posed by a number of legislative proposals is highlighted through the example of those countries which have already legalized euthanasia or assisted suicide. This paper investigates the developments in Belgium, Canada, and the Netherlands and shows that in countries which have already gone down this road, the number of people euthanized, and the number of qualifying conditions increase with no logical stopping point.

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Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
How can patients trust their doctor to provide the best treatment when euthanasia is considered a ‘valid’ option?
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
Over the last 20 years, the number of assisted deaths in Oregon grew by 1,000%. Wherever euthanasia has been legalized it has spiraled out of control.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
Doctors oppose euthanasia because it undermines the trust in doctor-patient relationships.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
Allowing doctors to prescribe deadly drugs to hasten a person’s death is a violation of the dignity of the human person.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly ruled that there is no ‘right to die’.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
In 2017, 19% of euthanasia performed in Belgium were on patients experiencing symptoms common with aging.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
Every 3 hours 24 minutes, a person is euthanized in Canada.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
Every 4 hours, a person is euthanized in Belgium.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
Every 80 minutes, a person is euthanized in the Netherlands.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
In Belgium, the youngest child euthanised was 9 years old.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
Euthanasia is not medical care.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
There is no lower age limit for euthanasia in Belgium.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
In Oregon, loneliness is recorded as a leading factor for choosing euthanasia. We should care for our most vulnerable.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
In Switzerland, a woman paid €10,000 to die because she no longer felt pretty. #AffirmDignity
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
In Belgium, the youngest child euthanised was 9 years old. The law allows for even younger children than that.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
Palliative care improves the quality of life of patients and provides relief from pain and suffering.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
75% of people who died by assisted suicide in Oregon agreed that their pain was under control.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
Euthanasia intentionally terminates life. Palliative care improves the quality of life.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
The weak, the suffering, the sick, the elderly need our compassionate love and support.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
The claims of a very small and determined minority who wish to die remove the freedom of vulnerable people who wish to live.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
In Belgium, the ratio of euthanasia administered to non-terminal patients has more than doubled.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
There is nothing progressive about a society that refuses to care for its most vulnerable members.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
We should give people a reason to live instead of treating them like a burden on society. We should #AffirmDignity
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
Washington and Oregon studies show most patients choose assisted suicide because they fear loss of control over their own lives.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
We go to great lengths to discourage suicide. How then can we pass a law that encourages suicide at the hands of a doctor?
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
How do we distinguish between the person we talk down from the bridge, and the person we gets a lethal injection from their doctor?
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
In the Netherlands, there were 2,220 reported suicides and 6,091 cases of euthanasia in 2016. How can a society prevent suicide when they allow euthanasia?
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
In Belgium, 69% of euthanasia cases were carried out less than a month after the request. More time is allowed to return a purchase to a store than to reconsider death.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
Belgium has legalized euthanasia for the sick and now allow the intentional killing of children. Where is the stopping point?
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
The sad reality is that the legalization of euthanasia creates its own demand.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
Voluntary euthanasia inevitably leads to involuntary euthanasia. A “right to die” quickly turns into a duty to die.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
In Belgium in 2016 there were 2,384 suicides and 2,028 people died by euthanasia. How can a caring society prevent suicide yet allow euthanasia?
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
We urge the Belgian government to reconsider their decision to allow euthanasia of children. #AffirmDignity
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
The number of people being euthanised and the conditions that “qualify” for euthanasia have increased every single year in every country that has legalized euthanasia.
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
As a society we go to great lengths to prevent people from committing suicide and yet we pass laws encouraging assisted suicide. Where does it end?
Affirm Dignity End Euthanasia
To suggest to someone that they should kill themselves is abuse.

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