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Friday July 18, 2008
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Spanish Euthanasia Advocates Launch Legalization Campaign
"Declaration of Santander for Death with Dignity" calls for "self-determination" to "dispose of one's life"
By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
MADRID, July 18, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A small group of Spanish euthanasia advocates, led by Dr. Luis Montes, have issued a manifesto that claims that "the human person...enjoys the rights of self-determination, liberty, dignity, and others, which permit him to dispose of his life, which permit him to confront death in light of his personal decision."
The "Manifesto of Santander" was formulated at the conclusion of a seminar held by Montes at the University of Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo de Santander, "Death with Dignity: Assistence in Dying."
The seminar featured health professionals and academics speaking on topics related to euthanasia and assisted suicide, and was sponsored by several medical and government organizations. However, despite much publicity by the Spanish media, the "manifesto" created at the conclusion of the conference has received only three signatures. One newspaper commented that it "hasn't awakened the slightest interest within the medical profession."
Apparently sensitive to comparisons with Adolf Hitler's euthanasia policies, the declaration argues that "the use of terms 'Nazism' or 'euthanasic homocide'" with regard to euthanasia "are false and insulting and are outside of reality."
"Although the constitution and current legislation should continue guaranteeing the right to life, it should also guarantee the right to death with dignity," the manifesto states. "The legislator should recognize that the current regulations in the penal code in article 143.4 are insufficient to guarantee this right."
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