Danish parliament to vote on citizens' proposal on euthanasia
A citizens' proposal to allow euthanasia in Denmark has received 50,000 signatures, meaning the proposal is eligible to be debated and voted on in the Danish parliament for the first time.
The proposal, put forward by Lars Lior Ramsgaard, a nurse from Aarhus, currently has 50,832 signatures, making it the first time a borgerforslag, or citizen's proposal on euthanasia has passed the 50,000 threshold to be submitted to parliament.
Ramsgaard told TV2 Østjylland in February that his motion was partly motivated by his work, in which he often meets patients who would like to be allowed to die, and partly by the case of his own mother, who had wanted to end her life at a time of her choosing but been unable to do so due to the law.
The calls tor the parliament to "legalise active euthanasia when special circumstances are present".
In 2013, Ramsgaard said, a poll funded by Palliativt Videncenter, or Palliative Knowledge Centre and Trygfonden, the fund connected to the Tryg insurance company, found that 71 percent of the Danish population backed active euthanasia, while 61 percent of MPs were opposed.
The Danish Medical Association, which represents doctors in the country, is calling on MPs to reject the proposal.
"There are many reasons for this: we do not think that suffering should be managed by killing people; we are afraid of the slippery slope we see in countries where euthanasia has been brought in; and we think one should invest in proper end-of-life palliative care," said Klaus Klausen, chair of the association's ethics committee.
In 2018, a similar proposal reached 8,386 signatures and in 2019, another reached 1,409, according to the Politiken newspaper.
Under Denmark's borgerforslag system, the parliament can decide to reject a proposal without a vote or discussion.
Comments
See Also
The proposal, put forward by Lars Lior Ramsgaard, a nurse from Aarhus, currently has 50,832 signatures, making it the first time a borgerforslag, or citizen's proposal on euthanasia has passed the 50,000 threshold to be submitted to parliament.
Ramsgaard told TV2 Østjylland in February that his motion was partly motivated by his work, in which he often meets patients who would like to be allowed to die, and partly by the case of his own mother, who had wanted to end her life at a time of her choosing but been unable to do so due to the law.
The calls tor the parliament to "legalise active euthanasia when special circumstances are present".
In 2013, Ramsgaard said, a poll funded by Palliativt Videncenter, or Palliative Knowledge Centre and Trygfonden, the fund connected to the Tryg insurance company, found that 71 percent of the Danish population backed active euthanasia, while 61 percent of MPs were opposed.
The Danish Medical Association, which represents doctors in the country, is calling on MPs to reject the proposal.
"There are many reasons for this: we do not think that suffering should be managed by killing people; we are afraid of the slippery slope we see in countries where euthanasia has been brought in; and we think one should invest in proper end-of-life palliative care," said Klaus Klausen, chair of the association's ethics committee.
In 2018, a similar proposal reached 8,386 signatures and in 2019, another reached 1,409, according to the Politiken newspaper.
Under Denmark's borgerforslag system, the parliament can decide to reject a proposal without a vote or discussion.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.