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SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT EUTHANASIA?

False belief:

"Quality of life" is a clear concept that will make euthanasia decisions easy.

Truth:

"Quality of Life" is worryingly vague. Does it mean that poor people will be more likely to undergo euthanasia than rich people? Does it mean that disabled people are more likely to undergo it than non-disabled people?

False belief:

Money won't come into euthanasia decisions.

Truth:

At a conference of the General Medical Council held in July 2001, Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss said that hospitals may need to consider the issue of resources.

False belief:

Euthanasia is just a matter of withholding burdensome medical treatment.

Truth:

Food and water have been redefined as medical treatment.

False belief:

Euthanasia works well in the Netherlands and people there are happy about it.

Truth:

The Dutch senate got 60,000 letters opposing euthanasia. It has been used on people who were depressed but not physically ill.