September 20, 2016 (SPUC) — The recent conviction of a 78-year-old Danish man who assisted the suicide of his paralyzed 71-year old wife has fueled debate on euthanasia in Denmark.
Last week, Mogens Arlund was convicted of assisted suicide and given a 50-day jail sentence after giving his wife, Vibeke Arlund, a lethal dose of 20 sleeping pills. In an ensuing opinion poll carried out by television channel TV2, 79 percent of respondents said Danish law should allow “active death-help” as an option.
However, Gorm Greisen, the chairman of Denmark's Ethical Council, which has rejected euthanasia on a number of occasions, said it would be ethically wrong to institutionalize “active death-help.” Mr. Greisen has argued that popular acceptance of euthanasia could go wrong, citing Nazi Germany, where people considered “unworthy of living” were put to death. The Danish government is said to back the Ethical Council and to be firmly against legalizing euthanasia.
Reprinted with permission from the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children.