Church leaders in Europe have welcomed a vote by the Council of Europe parliamentarians not to approve euthanasia, saying they believe instead in good care being provided for terminally-ill patients.
"We are convinced there are alternatives to allowing euthanasia, without hiding away from the problem," said the Rev. Richard Fischer of the Conference of European Churches, which groups 126 mostly Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican churches in Europe.
Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the 46-country Council of Europe rejected a resolution — introduced by Swiss Radical Liberal legislator Dick Marty — that would have approved doctor-assisted suicide for terminally-ill patients.
Marty noted in a report that two European countries, Belgium and the Netherlands, had passed laws that specifically address the issue of euthanasia. He argued that medical developments had made it "even more necessary to assist sick people in the last phase of life," and that public opinion in Europe favoured allowing euthanasia in certain cases.
— Jonathan Luxmore, ENI
