Minister urged to go public on Santorum’s euthanasia claims

Foreign minister Uri Rosenthal should make a public statement on the ‘scandalous’ claims made by Republican party presidential hopeful Rick Santorum about Dutch euthanasia policy, MP Frans Timmermans says.


Santorum said during a recent interview that forced euthanasia accounts for 5% of all deaths in the Netherlands and that frightened old people wear bracelets saying ‘Do not euthanise me.’
According to the New York Times, the Dutch ambassador in the US has refused to comment on the claims, saying the Dutch government preferred not to intervene in an American political campaign.
But now Labour MP Frans Timmermans has called on Rosenthal to act. ‘I have asked him to make a public statement. This cannot be allowed to rest,’ Timmermans says on his Facebook page.
Voluntary euthanasia, which has been legal in the Netherlands since 2002, accounted for about 2% percent of deaths in 2010. Euthanasia can only be carried out under strict conditions, and requires the consent of two doctors.

Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation