Dutch Doctor Loses Euthanasia Appeal
By Reuters ,
The New York Times, December 25, 2002
MSTERDAM, Dec. 24 — A Dutch doctor
who helped a patient die lost his appeal today against a ruling that he had
assisted suicide rather than committed euthanasia, which the Netherlands
made legal last year.
The doctor, who appealed the verdict to test the limits of the law, had helped a man to take his life. The man suffered from incontinence, dizziness and immobility and said he was tired of life; but the court said his condition did not justify a mercy killing, which is legal only if the patient faces intolerable suffering.
Dr. Sutorius received no jail sentence or fine because, the lower court ruled, he had acted out of compassion.
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