Jenny Nolan

About the author: Jenny Nolan works as a legislative assistant for the National Right to Life Committee's Department of Medical Ethics.

In the spring of 2001 euthanasia was legalized in the Netherlands, an event that elicited an outcry from many within the nation and around the world. Many saw it as a "sinister trend" that was often practiced without the consent of those being euthanized. In fact, statistics show that 11 to 12 percent of those euthanized in the Netherlands have been put to death without their consent, and only 60 percent of euthanasia cases were reported, although reporting is supposed to be mandatory. The Dutch euthanasia laws are so vague that doctors are expanding the practice to include those who are not terminally ill. For example, doctors euthanized an elderly senator...