She was independent, you see. She didn't want to be dependent. This is a sentiment that has become familiar to me as I crisscross the country at the forefront of a debate about dying. Here, 2.4 percent of deaths occur with a doctor's assistance. East of here, Eugene Sutorius, the energetic lawyer who tried nearly all the cases that led to the acceptance of doctor-assisted death, said it another way.
Euthanasia rests on two prongs.
One is mercy. The other is autonomy. Elsewhere, Dutch doctors described those who ask for euthanasia as verbal, outspoken people who put a strong value on their dignity and control. And the minister of health, Else Borst-Eilers, said that she wouldn't want to live if she no longer recognized her grandchildren. Independence has become a trademark value of postwar culture in many countries.