BEIJING REGIME MOVES TO LEGALIZE ASSISTED SUICIDE

BEIJING, March 17, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A group of delegates to the National People’s Congress (NPC), the national assembly of the People’s Republic of China, wants the country to experiment with “right to die” legislation, according to a report from the government newspaper China Daily.  Shanghai representative Zhu Shiming and 31 other delegates say the program could be first tested in Beijing and Shanghai. He cited as his motivation the recent death of his brother-in-law from cancer. “If China had a law allowing termination of life by painless means to end severe physical suffering, my brother-in-law and other patients wouldn’t have to experience severe pain before death,” he said.  Dong Xieliang, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s highest advisory body, said assisted suicide “could be misused” and that it could become obsolete as advances in medical technology find cures for terminal illnesses.  (with files from Pro-Life E-News)