Are you kidding me? Belgian Euthanasia Doctors Seek Existential Answers at Auschwitz.

Are you Kidding me? Belgian Euthanasia Doctors Seek Existential Answers at Auschwitz. (Spiegel).

A group of Belgium's leading practitioners of euthanasia recently visited the Auschwitz concentration camp memorial to learn more about death and humanity. The trip proved to be just as controversial for the doctors as it did insightful. 

Some 70 people gradually gather around Distelmans. The group consists of doctors, psychologists and nurses from Belgium, most of whom work in the area of euthanasia. One of them is Eric Vandevelde, who during the course of his career has killed 20 people at their own request even as he helps women give birth every day. He's accompanied by his wife Colette, who was instrumental in introducing Belgium's euthanasia law 12 years ago. Manu Keirse, a psychologist, is also on hand. He's the author of 35 books, nearly all of which are on the topic of mourning. There's also Bea Verbeeck, a psychiatrist who is currently examining a request by a manic depressive man who gambles away tousands during his manic phases. Distelmans, who is the chairman of the Belgian government's Euthanasia Commission, has invited all of them on a trip to Poland.

Death with Dignity.

In Auschwitz he intends to reflect with them on the meaning of "death with dignity". That's also the title of the tour, which is printed on the program booklet. It has to do with existential questions: self-determination, fear and freedom -- and what these things mean to us today. And it concerns how far we go, should go, and should be allowed to go.

But the group is not limited to euthanasia specialists. A Belgian journalist is also standing at the gate. "I'm traveling as far as Birkenau, and when I have enough material, I'll go back home," he says. A tour operator accompanying the group says, "I normally do football trips."

There's also a homeopath who says: "A well-balanced individual has no need for euthanasia." Some of the medical professionals have taken along their wives, who are looking forward to seeing the picturesque medieval city of Krakow. A Jewish photographer named Guy Kleinblatt is also there. Members of his family died in Auschwitz and he is visiting the site for the first time. What all of these people have in common is that they support euthanasia and a liberal society.

They are following Distelmans to Auschwitz, they say, to learn more respect for their fellow human beings. In Auschwitz they intend to find out why the right of the individual to decide over his own life is inalienable -- and why people must be absolutely free to make their own decisions in this respect. Auschwitz, they say, is the antithesis of everything that they hope to achieve, and they are seeking to reflect there upon what it means to kill out of humility and love.

Protesting 'Dr. Death'.

There were protests in the run-up to this trip. The British Daily Mail Online dubbed Distelmans as "Dr. Death" and described his trip to Auschwitz as tasteless. 

Meanwhile, Belgian journalists have also picked up on the debate using the Dutch translation for the same moniker. In the northern Belgian city of Antwerp, ultra orthodox Jews staged protests to voice their outrage at Distelmans referring to Auschwitz in his travel itinerary as an "inspiring venue." 

They called him a "professional killer." Distelmans received an email from a German-speaking scholar that contained just one word: "murderer." After the trip was over, the deputy director of the Auschwitz memorial wrote an email in response to the protests in which he said: "We feel that the attempt to link the history of Auschwitz with the current debate about euthanasia is inappropriate." Hmmm......This is so wrong on so many levels i can't even find words for it. There is no 'Death with dignity in the NAZI extermination camps...... whats next Follow the Nazi way of exterminating disabled and mental patients.....Why stop there?Read the full story here.

Video - Plea from a Canadian child to the King of Belgium: Stop Child Euthanasia

Video - Plea from a Canadian child to the King of Belgium: Stop Child Euthanasia. VIDEO by CoalitionMD  More here.

Related:
The Coalition of Physicians for Social Justice: A Belgian doctor condemns euthanasia in his country and the deadly consequences for Quebecers.

QUEBEC CITY, Oct. 10, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - On the last day of public hearings on " end of life care ," the Coalition of Physicians for Social Justice invited Dr. Georges Casteur, former medical director of a neurological rehabilitation center in Ostend, Belgium (1976 to 2012), to present results of 10 years of euthanasia in his country. According to Dr. Casteur, safeguards and controls in Belgium do not provide complete protection. According to studies, one-third of patients "euthanized" were not able to give free and informed consent. Almost 50% of "euthanasia cases" were not reported to authorities. He described the steep slippery slope and "the culture of death" that is now installed in Belgium. He gave several examples of people "exhausted of life, or depressed" who were given lethal injections without prior notification to their family members. Recently, a 44 year old patient named Nathan Verhelst (" Nancy "), unhappy with a sex-change surgery, was euthanized on Sept. 30, 2013. In contrast, several of Dr. Casteur's patients have changed their decisions to end their lives after talking with him or his colleagues. Last year, one of his patients with severe quadriplegia, following an accident, was referred to a Brussels hospital for three weeks of rehabilitation after euthanasia was already programmed. After a chance conversation with a physician at the clinic, he changed his mind and is now enjoying life. He also described how pressures such as financial problems, family members, heirs, health care providers and administrators lacking hospital beds, can prevent people from making "free and unbiased decisions." Also, there is a lack of independence of the second consulting physician who is often a member of the same team with a goal of promoting euthanasia. He showed the similarities of the Belgian and proposed Quebec law. He argued that the same tragic consequences will happen if euthanasia is legalized in Quebec. Furthermore, Dr. Casteur is astonished that the word euthanasia is not used in the Bill 52. However there is one major difference: Belgian law is a federal law unlike the proposed Quebec law which is provincial.

Also present were a couple from Lachine, Quebec, Jacques Roy and his wife Diane Bergevin, whose life has been challenged since 2011 by two tumors, one behind the left eye and another in her lung. Despite the severity of the diagnosis, they are both relieved by the good response to treatment. Mr. Roy discussed the potential dangers of a poor prognosis given by some doctors and a variety of external pressures that may endanger the health and survival of patients. He is concerned that the new law will "encourage people to look for the easiest and the fastest fix- the deadly needle. Administrators, government and some doctors will benefit. It is clear that it is more expensive to treat diseases. So, even though there may be a chance to survive or live longer, some doctors will quickly ship patients off to funeral homes. "

Dr. Paul Saba, who is a family physician and co-chair of the Coalition of Physicians for Social Justice, explained the fatal consequences of euthanasia and the loss of individual autonomy if Bill 52 is passed. Euthanasia also creates significant risks such as premature deaths in those with potentially reversible conditions. In Oregon, before the government agrees to pay the cost of medical care even for young people, cancer treatment must obtain a success rate of over 50% for 24 months. People who could potentially live a long time or even get cured from a cancer diagnosis must pay out of pocket or accept the free lethal cocktail.

By legalizing euthanasia, Quebecers become second-class citizens in comparison with criminals. "We have abolished the death penalty to avoid the death of innocent people as a result of judicial error. In contrast, euthanasia denies patients protection despite the risks associated with the procedure. Governments are investing large amounts of money for prisons while 80% of patients in need of palliative care do not have access to these underfunded services. The legalization of euthanasia goes against individual rights and the protection of life. "

Finally, Dr. Saba asks " if nine million physicians of the World Medical Association condemn euthanasia, if more than 200 countries reject this procedure, and if safeguards and controls do not work anywhere in the world, what justification is there for a euthanasia law in Quebec? "