Seven out of ten are positive about active euthanasia – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country

– Mum was so happy during the 19 days we celebrated her. We cooked together, played together and cried together. The whole package. That’s what Anna Kirah, chairman of the association Right to a dignified death, says about the last days she spent with her mother. The association Right to a dignified death works for the legalization of active euthanasia in Norway. Anna Kirah is happy that her mother was allowed to make the choice if she wanted to live on. Photo: Laik Hanbaly / news – The day my mother was diagnosed, she told us that she did not want life-prolonging treatment. – She wanted to end her life. The mother of Norwegian-American Kirah had then been told that she had stage four lung cancer, which most patients do not survive. That made her 87-year-old American mother decide to seek euthanasia. It is an opportunity she had as a registered citizen in the state of Washington in the USA. It is not a choice she could have made if she had lived in Norway. Because in Norway, euthanasia is prohibited. – Mum was so happy during the 19 days we celebrated her, says Anna Kirah Photo: Laik Hanbaly Now the daughter wants Norway to become the next country in Europe to allow active euthanasia. A new survey shows that she may have a majority of the Norwegian people behind her. Today, euthanasia is permitted in, among others, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal, the latter of which opened for euthanasia only a month ago. 7 out of 10 are positive about legalization In a new survey, researchers at the Center for Medical Ethics at the University of Oslo asked about the attitudes of the Norwegian population towards the legalization of euthanasia. In the survey commissioned by the Council for Medical Ethics, seven out of ten responded that they were positive about the legalization of euthanasia in terminal illness with a short life expectancy. 1167 participants responded to the survey. Anna Kirah is happy that the survey shows a majority in favor of legalizing euthanasia. Photo: Laik Hanbaly / news You cannot find the same support from doctors. Because in another study conducted in 2016 among a selection of doctors who were members of the Norwegian Medical Association, support for legalization was only found among three out of ten who took part in the survey. – The doctors stand in the way of legalization The leader of the Right to a dignified death believes that the Norwegian Medical Association stands in the way of a possible legalization in Norway, even if it is politicians who will ultimately have to adopt legislative changes in the area. She believes that a lack of support from Norwegian doctors makes it difficult for politicians to open up euthanasia in Norway. Kirah believes the new survey should make politicians aware of the support for legalisation. Photo: Laik Hanbaly / news – They are the ones who will carry out the work, their support must be decisive, right? – This is not a medical question but rather a political question. For me, this is about democracy. – I cannot understand that politicians do not change the law when 70 per cent of the population wants it, says Kirah. Svein Aarseth, head of the Council for Medical Ethics, agreed. The Council for Medical Ethics advises the Norwegian Medical Association on ethical issues. – To say that this is not a medical issue, but rather a political one, is too easy, says Aarseth. The head of the Council for Medical Ethics, Svein Aarseth, does not agree that the Medical Association stands in the way of the legalization of euthanasia in Norway. Photo: Laik Hanbaly / news He also says that euthanasia conflicts with the ethical rules laid down in the medical profession, and refers to paragraph 5 of the Ethical Rules for Doctors which says that doctors must not perform euthanasia. – This is largely a question that concerns doctors. – I also don’t think it is as easy as 70 per cent of the Norwegian population really wanting us to introduce some form of euthanasia in Norway. – It must end with a yes or no. And right now it’s no, do you think active euthanasia should be legal in Norway? Yes No I don’t know, that’s a difficult question. Show result



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