Dutch Euthanasia: In discussions of “death with dignity” and physician-assisted “suicide”, the Dutch are often cited as exemplars of advanced and civilized attitudes - a nation that does it right. But Wesley J. Smith points out how things really stand there:

As proof, I referred to several studies on Dutch euthanasia revealing that about 1,000 patients who have not asked to be euthanized are killed by doctors each year. Though such killings are considered murder under Dutch law, I explained that those doctors who engage in "termination without request or consent" in the Netherlands are almost never prosecuted. Moreover, the very few who are prosecuted are usually found not guilty. And the exceedingly rare conviction, when it happens, never leads to criminal sanction, or even professional discipline against the offending doctor.

A thousand patients a year who are killed without consent. That should give us all pause.

(via Charles Murtaugh)