Re: Euthanasia

Apr 29, 2015

After reading several stories about euthanasia, I thought I’d better let you know our family experiences in the Netherlands about this very slippery slope.

My Mom was diagnosed with what the doctor told us was a “sister” of cancer in February 1965. Before Christmas of that year, we did not know she was dying, but the doctor told my Dad, “I give her this shot and it will all be over before Christmas”. My Dad did not realize what he meant. She passed away on Jan 2, 1966. The doctor came and said, “She had a very strong heart, that she lived until now.” Dad did not grasp right away what to think until two weeks later. She was 51.

Then in 1974 my mother-in-law moved to another city, found a family doctor, who wanted to know if anything was wrong with her. She was 69 years old, so he told her to go for a few days of observation etc. to a hospital in a nearby city. There didn’t seem to be much wrong with her. My sister-in-law drove her there, got her settled in and left for home. Before she got home there was already a phone call, for her to come back. Something had happened to her Mom. She had wanted to go to the bathroom and dropped dead, beside her bed. From a retired nurse, who was still working at that time, my sister-in-law found out that her Mom was given a euthanasia shot, by mistake, which was meant for another lady! Seniors in Holland are afraid to go to the hospital, because this seems to happen regularly, my Dad told me!

Theresa Poelwyk