Belgium has seen over 27,000 cases of euthanasia since introducing its “assisted suicide” laws in 2002. In 2014, the country even legalized euthanizing children. Presently, Belgium permits euthanasia for minors diagnosed with a purportedly “terminal” illness, those deemed to be near death, or those experiencing chronic pain, provided they have the consent of both parents and doctors. Between 2016 and 2017, three children were “humanely euthanized” via lethal injection.
But there is a new target on their radar – the elderly who refuse to die.
The argument? Old people cost too much and use too much taxpayer-funded healthcare.
With the number of people over 80 expected to double to an estimated 12 million by 2050m, it’s a “problem” that Luc Van Gorp, head of health insurer Christian Mutuality, says can’t be fixed with money. He calls for a radical approach.
Calling the elderly a “mountain of meat” that begins to stink as it rots, Van Gorp suggests that killing off the elderly will save taxpayers money. He suggests that aging is an endless cycle of poor health, elderly care, and expensive medications in exchange for an extended but “poor quality of” life.
He additionally points to expensive medications required for some within the elderly population, such as cancer drugs. He argues that the costs of caring for the elderly “may not be worthwhile.”
Van Gorp suggests, “Doctors and other health professionals are now doing their utmost to make everyone live longer, but for what purpose?”
He emphasized that there should be a “softer form for people who feel that their lives are complete” and claimed that “many elderly people are tired of life.”
He softens the concept of assisted suicide by suggesting it be called “giving life back.”
It’s a concept that has gained some traction among Belgium’s liberal lawmakers. But not all are on board with killing Granny because she’s inconvenient. Christian Democrat leader Sammy Mahdi expressed a different view: “If someone is tired of life and feels like they are standing in the way and no longer getting visitors, then we are failing as a society.”
The concept of killing “inconvenient” people is not a new one, nor did it end after Hitler’s defeat in 1945. In the Netherlands, healthy individuals suffering from intellectual handicaps such as autism have been legally euthanized to “end their suffering.” In 2023, the Netherlands expanded its regulations to include children as young as one. Before this overhaul, children between one and twelve were not eligible to be euthanized. Now, they can be killed without the approval of their parents.
Canada had already embraced euthanasia for mentally ill citizens, up to and including “mature minors.”
Canada permitted euthanasia six years ago but initially restricted it to individuals over 18 with a terminal illness. However, in March of last year, amendments were made to the law, expanding euthanasia eligibility to patients whose natural death is not deemed “reasonably foreseeable.” This change sets the stage for mentally ill individuals to access Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) starting in March 2023. Under Canada’s new laws, citizens can request euthanasia for being disabled, mentally ill, in chronic pain, and…poor.
A case involving a 37-year-old Canadian woman paralyzed from a Moderna COVID booster was recently making the rounds on social media. Kayla Pollock took the Moderna booster because Pfizer’s vaccine was unavailable at her pharmacy. As a result, she was left paralyzed from the neck down, the result of a vaccine-related condition known as transverse myelitis.
Canadian officials offered Pollock the option of euthanasia twice as she lay in her hospital bed, an offer she refused. It should be noted that before receiving her diagnosis, Canadian doctors had told her her paralysis was “all in her head.” This, then, is a shining example of universal healthcare as well as an unsettling look at using euthanasia to get rid of an inconvenient patient suffering from a vaccine-related injury that the world was assured “rarely happens.”
In the U.S., Oregon became the pioneer state to legalize medically assisted suicide, implementing a law in 1997. Following suit, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Vermont, Washington state, and Washington, D.C. have passed similar laws, each with residency prerequisites. Montana’s Supreme Court has also determined that state law does not forbid “medical aid” in dying.
In June 2022, Oregon revamped its euthanasia policy to remove residency requirements, introducing a new concept of “suicide tourism.” Suicide tourism is already embraced in Switzerland, where citizens from around the world can go to die without residency restrictions.
While Belgium remains a beautiful place to visit, those looking for a new retirement location should probably cross the country off their list.
