Republic of the Philippines

SUTAN KUDARAT STATE UNIVERSITY

ACCESS Campus, EJC Montilla, Tacurong City

College of Health Sciences

Name/s: CHRISTENE FEB M. LACHICA Date: DEC. 17, 2021

MEDIA ANALYSIS
"Allow me to Die: Euthanasia in Belgium”

Belgian law on physician-assisted suicide is the most liberal in the world, and it isn't just
for the terminally sick. Patients with psychiatric illnesses, as well as children, can now seek
euthanasia. Many experts feel it allows patients with chronic and intolerable suffering a practical
and humanitarian means to die peacefully, according to polls in Belgium. Even in a country
where there is widespread acceptance, there is still debate.

On November 24, 2015, the SBS Dateline program "Allow me to Die”, about the issue
of euthanasia in Belgium, was rebroadcast. In this film, a father in his 30s considers euthanasia
as a means of coping with his chronic massive migraine headaches. The video also depicts the
death of an elderly woman in good health who was trying to cope with the loss of her daughter.

The majority of physicians studied support euthanasia for terminal patients suffering

from unbearable pain or symptoms, and believe it can be a component of effective end-of-life
care. Despite having had minimal involvement in the process of legalizing euthanasia, physicians
now generally endorse the law.

What's frightening about what's going down in Belgium is that the practice of euthanasia has
spread far beyond terminally ill patients. It has evolved into something far bigger, encompassing
mental diseases and persons of all ages, from infants to the elderly.
 Professor Theo Boer, a Dutch ethicist who was once a proponent of the Netherlands'
euthanasia laws, is also featured in the film. He now believes that euthanasia legislation is a
mistake and that "something is going terribly wrong." He claims that euthanasia has become the
default option for cancer patients. Furthermore, the laws are being utilized by those who are
"tired of life," which is far from what the legislation' creators intended.

While this isn't the most popular topic for dinner parties, we need to learn more about
how people experience death and suffering in our day. We also need to be able to educate people
about the dangers of euthanasia laws in our own nation, especially at a time when programs like
ABC's Q&A treat the subject in such a one-sided way. So I would recommend watching this
story for added knowledge and understanding about the topic.