Doctors euthanize Belgian twins who said they could not bear the thought of going blind

National Post ^ | 13 Jan 2013 | Bruno Waterfield

[BlackVeil]

Identical twins have been killed by Belgian doctors in a unique case under the country’s euthanasia laws.

The 45-year-old brothers from the Antwerp region were born deaf and sought euthanasia after finding out that they would soon go blind. They told doctors that they were unable to bear the thought of not being able to see each other again.

The twins, who have not been named but have been pictured on Belgian television, had spent their entire lives together, sharing a flat and working as cobblers.

Belgium’s Het Laatste Nieuws newspaper reported on the weekend that doctors at Brussels University Hospital in Jette “euthanized” the two men by lethal injection ...

[BlackVeil]

Very sad. The slippery slope in action.

[TigersEye]

Not doctors. Executioners.

[BlackVeil]

You are 100% correct.

And who knows if they were really going to go blind? Medical opinions are anything but reliable. I have seen people face a terrible prognosis - but nothing happens, the threat receeds. And others who are told they are cured, but soon after die from that illness.

[Cymbaline]

You mean they were murdered.

[knarf]

SCREECH!! ing to a halt !!

What?

I've been happily cobbling with my brother for LO, these many years and ... and ... and someone said I'm gonn'a go blind.

SOMEone said ... You're gonn'a lose your eyesight

Someone SAID ... just SAID .. I'm GOING TO GO blind (I ain't blind yet)

T'hell with it ... kill me now

Y'all believe this ?

I don't.

[TigersEye]

Yes, I’ve known many people who defied their medical prognosis, Everything from nerve, ligament, spinal injuries to pathological diseases like cancer and diabetes. These twins bear their responsibility too. They committed suicide. Always a bad choice.

[MestaMachine]

I can’t even imagine. There has to be more to this. Were they retarded in some way?
What kind of a ‘doctor’ would even contemplate something as heinous as this?
We are losing our humanity. G-d forgive us.

[BuddhistConservative]

So very true. My OBGYN had me convinced my daughter had Down’s Syndrome. I delivered a healthy baby, with no health issues besides GERD, 3 months ago.

[Casie]

Ah! What a blessing!

Yep, doctors are just people and they DO NOT know as much as they think they do.

[Ezekiel]

doctors at Brussels University Hospital in Jette “euthanized” the two men by lethal injection

The death penalty for no crime. How fast is it executed for actual criminals?

Death penalty

The death penalty: a few notions

Belgium, along with a great many other countries, believes that the death penalty is a serious assault on human dignity. The dissuasive effect of this punishment has not been proven and since it is irreversible, it is impossible to subsequently grant reprieve. In Belgium, the last execution took place in 1950 and this sentence was abolished by law in punishment for any crime whatsoever in 1996.

http://diplomatie.belgium.be/en/policy/policy_areas/human_rights/specific_issues/death_penalty/

The people who offed the twins were the ones who went blind.

[BlackVeil]

The people who offed the twins were the ones who went blind.

Post of the day.

[Cementjungle]

Just days after the twins were killed by doctors, Belgium’s ruling Socialists tabled a legal amendment that will allow the euthanasia of children and Alzheimer’s sufferers. The controversial change will allow minors and people suffering from dementia to seek permission to die.

Wow.

[BlackVeil]

There has to be more to this.

No, just another normal day in Europe. The doctor says their last conversations were serene and beautiful. Note also, in the article, that the laws are being broadened to include euthenising children.

Were they retarded in some way?

I wondered about that. Their existing disability, and very reclusive way of life - living always within sight of each other and working as cobblers - at least suggests a learning handicap. I also wondered if one twin was being dominated by the other, who made the decision for both of them. Such dynamics are typical in disfunctional families, which, behind the jolly picture drawn in this article, is what this one was.

[Ms. Blunt]

There’s something lacking in this story that makes it creepy.

They weren’t blind yet, couldn’t they have waited until that happened? At least they wouldn’t have seen the needle coming at that them. Gads, I hate needles, I pass out.

[Wpin]

This from the continent that gave us the Nazi’s and Communism, should not be a surprise. Satan is still very strong there...

[AlexW]

“Y’all believe this ?”
_______________________________________

I am not buying it either.
Why not wait till your blind, THEN X yourself out?
Most likely this is more brainless journalism.

[Ezekiel]

since it is irreversible, it is impossible to subsequently grant reprieve

Looks like all that talk of "a serious assault on human dignity" doesn't mean jack when a verdict is handed down by "doctors". Where's all that better-safe-than-sorry compassion when *innocent* lives are at stake?

[Gene Eric]

Lurching towards the medieval.

[veritas2002]

You’re next. (What, you think it will stop here?)

[veritas2002]

Life either has absolute value or it does not. If it does not, it has relative value. If it has relative value, you’re next.