On Thursday, 25 March, following lengthy debates Latvia’s parliament decided to decline the collective initiative submitted by more than 10 000 residents in which it was proposed to legalize euthanasia.
49 deputies voted in favour of this initiative, 38 voted against, and two abstained. With this vote members of the parliament supported the decision made by the Mandates, Ethics and Submissions Committee to decline the collective initiative.
Committee chairperson Janīna Kursīte-Pakule said at the meeting of the Saeima that
people have to think what patients’ desire to die means for medical personnel, considering the Hippocratic oath requires doctors to save lives, not end them.
According to her, it is important to check if medical personnel are psychologically prepared to put their patient to death and what psychological consequences doctors and society as a whole can expect in the future.
At the same time, commenting on the range of participants of this meeting of the parliament, Kursīte-Pakule said deputies wanted to be politically correct by inviting representatives of four largest religions in Latvia. According to her, none of the members of the committee objected to the participation of representatives of the four religions in the meeting.
Saeima deputy Anda Čakša said that the topic of For a Good Death is a call for help from residents. She believes there are two important aspects – the accessibility of analgesia and palliative care and what are the people’s rights to refuse aggressive health treatment.
According to Čakša, the topic of euthanasia should not be on the table while the issue of palliative care remains unresolved. The Saeima member said her faction [New Unity] will hold a free vote on this.
Saeima deputy Andrejs Judins said he is rather reserved about all this and does not support the initiative. Nevertheless, he promised to vote opposite to the committee’s decision. «Each and every single one of us can moralize and reference authorities, but this is a call for help, as Čakša said,» added the Saeima deputy. He stressed that support for this initiative does not mean legalization of euthanasia soon. He did say, however, that members of the parliaments were elected to solve society’s problems.
He said members of the parliament are not ostriches – they cannot bury their heads in the sand and avoid problems. He believes it would be netter to form a work group, discuss and solve this problem. «If a person commits suicide – he is no more. A person died not because no one was there to save him, rather because society was indifferent,» said the politician, adding that deputies have a duty to discuss all topics.
Opposition deputy Ivars Zariņš agreed with Judins about the need to discuss this initiative in more detail.
He believes the parliament should look at all initiatives that receive a large number of signatures on manabalss.lv platform and which are not blatantly unlawful.
Judins also said during debates that people should not be able to «purchase a ticket to euthanasia the same way as tickets for a roller-coaster.» Instead, euthanasia should be a case of exception. According to him, there may be case when euthanasia is acceptable, but this is something for experts and psychologists to decide on. He also mentioned that after a conversation with a specialist the person who wants euthanasia may change their mind.
The parliamentarian also said deputies should not make the final decision about euthanasia at the 25 March meeting. Instead deputies should continue discussions later.
Saeima deputy Boriss Cilevičs admits this issue is very complicated, and he does not have a clear stance on this. He added that certain claims voiced in the parliament so far are unacceptable. He said he respects every person’s beliefs, but if a person does not belong to any of the four religious confessions the representatives of which were invited to attend the meeting, why should this person listen to them at all? «Isn’t the church separate from the state and vice versa? Doesn’t my life belong to me? I should be the one to decide how and when my life should end,» said the Saeima member, adding that euthanasia is not compulsory – it is every person’s choice.
The politician stressed that people who find euthanasia unacceptable because of their religious views will not be insisted on using it. It’s about the people who want it, said Cilevičs.
Even before the Saeima’s meeting the parliament’s Mandates, Ethics and Submissions Committee decided to decline citizens’ initiative. Representatives of the healthcare sector and four Christian confessions spoke during the meeting – all of them advised against supporting this initiative.
On the other hand, representative of the For a Good Death initiative Pēteris Buks invited members of the Saeima to support the initiative for the legalization of active euthanasia. Buks said euthanasia is intentional death. Its purpose is ending pain and suffering. It should be voluntary and justified. The representative of the initiative said ideally euthanasia comes in two forms – active and passive.
Passive euthanasia provides for limitation or cessation of medical treatment – the doctor basically lets the patient die after their request. Active euthanasia is intentional killing of the patient following their or their loved ones’ request.
Buks said there is already passive euthanasia in Latvia. This includes situations when the decision is made to cease medical treatment. However, this kind of euthanasia is not covered by regulations. At the same time, he reminds the initiative submitted to the Saeima covers active euthanasia specifically.
Deputy Vitālijs Orlovs, who is a doctor by profession, asked Buks if he believes there are doctors in Latvia who would partake in this difficult procedure.
«I understand what the initiative is about, but I was taught to fight for patients’ lives to the end. I cannot imagine injecting a person with some substance to help them die – not for any amount of money,» said the politician.
Buks said he has spoken about this with many doctors, adding that the ones who watched people suffering support active euthanasia. «Doctors can see immense suffering. I think those who have seen it would agree with me,» claimed the representative of the initiative.
Saeima deputy Andris Skride, who is a cardiologist, admitted that representatives of the initiative have clearly shown – the problem exists. Working with patients suffering from all kinds of problems has taught him that there may be a need for euthanasia.
Skride agreed with Buks, adding that passive euthanasia in Latvia is not regulated. This is why he believes it is necessary to commence discussions on a legislative level. The deputy said he has prepared a legislative draft, which he plans to submit to one of the parliament’s committees for review.