by Richard Fenigsen

About the author: Richard Fenigsen is a retired cardiologist from Willem- Alexander Hospital in the Netherlands.

Active euthanasia has been practiced in the Netherlands since 1972, a time probably much too short to expose all the changes euthanasia brings about in society, but long enough to reveal some of the consequences. Indeed, the practice of euthanasia has perceptibly affected the position of the individual in relation to society, society’s very nature and purpose, the law, the government, the judicial system, the family, the expectations of older persons and the prospects of newborn infants, the practice of medicine, and the care of persons with disabilities.

It is important to realize that among the industrialized nations Holland has developed one of the best, and arguably the best, health care system and an...