Members of EU Parliament Call for Radical Euthanasia Rethink

Europe, 8 Jul 07 -- A cross-party group of MEP's have called for a wide-ranging review of the law on euthanasia.

Speaking at a news conference in parliament, ALDE group leader Graham Watson stressed that he was not seeking to harmonise EU legislation on so-called mercy killings.

"We do seek to construct an alternative political platform, informed not by mainstream prejudices but by the empirical experiences of those
countries which have already regulated this phenomenon," he said.

Euthanasia has been "decriminalised" in a number of European countries, namely the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland.

Though the issue remains controversial, many terminally ill foreigners, including Britons, now travel to Switzerland to commit suicide, taking advantage of Swiss rules which are among the world's most liberal on assisted suicide.

However, in April 2005, the Council of Europe rejected a draft resolution on euthanasia to assist the terminally ill.

In 2004, MEP's passed a motion supporting "medically assisted dying" for those suffering unendurable pain with no hope of recovery.

In launching a resolution on euthanasia on Thursday, Watson was joined in his campaign by NGO representatives, other MEP's, including Marco Cappato and Chris Davies, and academics.

Watson, a UK deputy, called for the creation of a network of legislators "committed to regulating the practice of euthanasia across the EU and beyond".

"As a liberal I do not wish to impose my view on others but I do believe it is important to air different opinions and alternative approaches to that advocated by prohibitionists."

"The free and reasoned will of the individual should determine their life decisions. Why should this be any less true of end of life decisions?"

Pro-life supporters claim that European legislation to legalise euthanasia has been the first step on a slippery slope which has led to an undesirable increase in the number of cases in countries like Belgium for morally unacceptable reasons.