Belgian activist warns of slippery slope as euthanasia becomes 'normal'

Canada's  National Post newspaper, continuing its expose on euthanasia, interviews Dr Tom Mortier. Tom's mother was euthanased for clinical depression by Dr Wim Distelmans.
 
Tom says, at the close of the article in regards to Distelmans: 
 
"What he created is unbearable suffering for me."
 
As Canada moves toward legalizing assisted suicide, our four-part series looks at the places it is already happening.
Tom-Mortier
Dr Mortier
Tom Mortier never paid much attention to the discussion about euthanasia in his country. "I was like just about anyone else here in Belgium: I didn't care at all," he said in a recent interview. "If people want to die, it's probably their choice. It didn't concern me."
His mother's death has transformed Mr. Mortier, 37, from a typically indifferent Belgian into a raging critic of the country's euthanasia law, which came into force in 2002. "This is suicide with the approval of society," he said of her death. "This has nothing to do with euthanasia."Then in April 2012, Mr. Mortier, a University lecturer, got a message at work. His 64-year-old mother, in the throes of severe depression, had been euthanized the previous day. He would need to make arrangements at the morgue. His mother, Godelieva De Troyer, had largely broken off contact with her family but informed him by email three months earlier that she was looking into euthanasia. He never dreamed her request would be granted because she was in perfect physical health.
When Belgium legalized euthanasia, there were assurances that it would be tightly controlled and limited to exceptional cases. But the number of cases rises every year - reaching nearly 2% of total deaths last year - and the definition of what is acceptable is expanding. The country's Senate is currently debating a proposal to permit euthanasia of minors with a "capacity of discernment" and of people suffering from dementia.
 
Continue reading the article HERE.