The right to euthanasia, ie the choice between a calm death without pain and a painful death for patients with incurable diseases that are in a final stage, was discussed yesterday for the first time in the Human Rights Committee of the Parliament with a joint proposal of AKEL MPs Irini Charalambos and George Koukoumas, of DISY Rita Superman, Fotini Tsiridou and Marios Mavridis and the Movement of Ecologists Alexandra Attalidou.
There was a sober and productive dialogue on this existential issue that is seriously concerned in many countries of Europe and the world and it was attended by the Director General of the Ministry of Health Christina Giannaki, the chairwoman of the Pancyprian Pan-Cypriot Human Rights Committee. Of the Association Achilles Dimitriadis, the secretary of the Pancyprian Medical Association and chairman of the Ethics Committee of the PIC Michalis Anastasiadis, the chairman of the National Bioethics Committee of Cyprus Konstantinos Fellas, the archimandrite George Christodoulou on behalf of Professor of International Law and Human Rights Law at the University of Cyprus and Dr. Stergios Mitas Assistant Professor at the Law School of the University of Nicosia.
As the chair of the Committee Irini Charalambidou stated after the meeting, "our discussion was not about choosing between life and death, but about choosing between a painful death for incurable diseases when it is diagnosed that unfortunately the patient will end up with a decent death. At the same time, key legal issues were raised that need to be resolved at some point.
The discussion will continue with patient associations, non-governmental organizations, with people who offer palliative care to patients who are in the final stages ". During the discussion, MP George Koukoumas stated, among other things, that "at this stage in AKEL we do not have a vertical position, but only concerns" and raised the issue of whether some seriously ill people from the poorer social strata will choose euthanasia to avoid is the "financial burden" of the family. On behalf of DISY, Rita Superman said that "at DISY we do not yet have a clear view on the issue as a party, we are waiting to hear the experts and people who will be affected by the issue, which is still taboo in our society and must be raised clearly, since it has legal, moral, religious and philosophical aspects ". Alexandra Attalidou stated that "in countries where euthanasia is legally allowed, the percentage of citizens who applaud it is high and reaches 70-80%" and spoke about "the right to individual dignity, free choice, self-determination in the body and in the life of each of us. "There must be self-determination even in death, if of course it is legislated and if any possibility of abuse of the law is ruled out."
Does it happen "underground" in Cyprus?
In her statement, Christina Giannaki stated, among other things, that "the patient's decision for the right to death is made not by the patient, but by his close relatives, since he is not in a position due to the medication he is receiving. I believe - he added - that the rights of patients should be defined and the medical community should answer some questions raised by the Bioethics Committee in order to continue the debate in Parliament based on the medical point of view ". Dr. Konstantinos Fellas stated that "the public debate comes at a very important time as our society refuses to discuss the issue of death, has sidelined the issue of loss, mourning, mourning, pain and focuses on the good ζειν ». According to Dr. Aris Konstantinidis, "there are more and more states that study the issue very seriously, however the states that have not regulated the issue, either allow the prosecution (even with mitigating and reduced sentences) of those who are proven to have committed euthanasia, or in most cases they let the doctors silently do the so-called passive euthanasia. It is left to the medical crisis for doctors to withdraw the technical support that ends the lives of patients who are in a final stage and have no prospect of life, but experience the irreversible end of life in a torturous and unworthy way. The representative of the PIS can tell us whether this is done informally in Cyprus and talking to doctors, we realize that it is something that happens underground because it is precisely unregulated ". In his own position, the representative of the PIS, Dr. Michalis Anastasiadis, said that "you will find us in a position to wait and reflect on this multi-level issue for which the PIS will clearly take a position, after exhausting all aspects to be studied, ie the individual human the right to life, the right of every human being to health, the right of relatives to the care and care of their loved ones, the rights of minors - since there are children in the final stages of illness - the right of the doctor to practice his medicine unhindered, the legal framework that will cover all this reform, the social environment, the moral and philosophical aspect ". From the Pancyprian Bar Association, Achilleas Dimitriadis stated that the discussion was a continuation of the event on euthanasia and the right to a healthy environment organized on December 10, 2021 by the Association in cooperation with the Council of Europe, under the auspices of the Speaker of Parliament. Annitas Dimitriou. After a question, he answered that "from the point of view of criminal law, assisted suicide is a criminal offense, so within the framework of this process, the amendment of the criminal code will be necessary".
In his own position, Archimandrite George Christodoulou, among other things, referred to the ancient Greek tradition and the medical oath of Hippocrates, as well as the Greek-Christian tradition. "All this - he said - has been discussed in a spirit of dialogue and I return with a more optimistic note, that in this metaphysical absence, where despair is essentially favored, especially in the moments of the culmination of pain and death, there is a faint hope and expectation. of the human being for the afterlife and this hope gives more endurance and courage ".
* We note that on behalf of the Pancyprian Bar Association, Alexandros Clerides referred to a large research on euthanasia after consulting with his clients in a 2017 case. handed over for study to the Human Rights Committee, stating that "Cyprus needs a legal framework that allows those who choose euthanasia to proceed safely."
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