Once a society generally accepts killing as an acceptable answer to human suffering, the categories of “suffering” permitting termination continually expand. Latest example: Spain, where people with serious mental illnesses may soon be permitted to be put down. From the Exaudi story:
The Ministry of Health has met with the autonomous communities to agree on the reform of the Manual of Good Practices on Euthanasia to include mental illness as a reason for requesting it.
The draft of the Organic Law on the Regulation of Euthanasia (LORE) indicates that euthanasia “does not exclude mental illness, allowing people with an unbearable suffering due to the presence of a mental illness to request the Aid to Dying Benefit (PAM) on equal terms with those whose suffering comes from a somatic illness”.
People with mental illnesses are already euthanized in Netherlands and Belgium — sometimes conjoined with organ harvesting. It was supposed to be legal now in Canada too, but permission has been delayed until 2027 — not because it is wrong — but to “make sure the system is trained.”
We aren’t talking slippery slopes anymore, but facts on the ground. The culture of death is like a cancer: Once allowed to generate, it never stops growing.