Cüneyt Karadağ
06 July 2023•Update: 06 July 2023
BERLIN
Two separate bills to legitimize euthanasia in Germany were rejected Thursday in parliament.
The draft laws, prepared by two different parliamentary groups and discussed in the Bundestag, did not receive a quorum.
The bills included the right of those older than 18 to end their lives by seeking medical care if they were severely incurable or in excruciating pain.
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach regretted that none of the bills found a majority and said the current situation naturally leads to certain legal uncertainty.
The German Foundation for Patient Protection welcomed the Bundestag's rejection of both bills.
"This saves Germany from a moral dilemma," said director Eugen Brysch.
A proposal, which was presented after the rejection of draft laws and which included a series of measures to prevent suicides, was accepted.
The proposal said studies will be initiated to provide a service that will enable people with suicidal ideation and their relatives to contact educated people online at any time of the day with a single telephone number.
In a 2020 decision, the Constitutional Court said euthanasia is a human right and is compatible with the Constitution. It requested the Bundestag to clarify the issue of the ability to take a decision on one’s death and to establish a legal framework for euthanasia.
With "passive euthanasia" in Germany, it is possible to voluntarily terminate the treatment of patients who have lost hope of survival or who have an incurable disease.
