Netherlands: Smeared as killers of the elderly

last updated 8 January 2015

Niels Posthumus

NRC Handelsblad

Rick Santorum is spreading disgusting lies about the Netherlands, said Niels Posthumus. The Republican presidential candidate claimed in a recent interview that we Dutch “murder our elderly with glee.” Santorum, who apparently invents his own fantasy statistics on the spot, said that euthanasia accounts for 10 percent of all deaths in this country, and that half of those are involuntary—old and sick people are supposedly done in because their hospital beds are needed. Anyone who wants a better chance of surviving a hospital stay, Santorum says, must wear a bracelet that says “Don’t euthanize me.” The result of this inhuman policy? He claims that old folks don’t even take their chances in Dutch hospitals, but head abroad for treatment “to escape the fatal injections” threatening them here at home. “What a fantasy life this man leads.” The truth, of course, is that only 2 percent of deaths involve euthanasia, and those people who do opt for that exit must undergo a waiting period and give witnessed, informed consent. This demonization of a NATO ally “would be laughable” if it weren’t for the horrifying reality that this Santorum person has a shot at the U.S. presidency.