Dutch doctor who drugged elderly euthanasia patient and gave her lethal injection as she fought desperately not to be killed did NOT break the law, panel rules
A FEMALE Dutch doctor who drugged an elderly euthanasia patient and then gave her a lethal injection despite her fighting not to be killed has been cleared.
The medic allegedly put the drug in the woman's coffee in order to calm her but she later awoke as she was being injected.
The unnamed patient, 80, reportedly suffered from dementia and had earlier expressed a desire for euthanasia when she deemed "the time was right".
As her situation deteriorated she was placed in care home with medical paperwork revealing she often exhibited signs of fear and anger.
A senior doctor at the nursing home was of the opinion that the woman was suffering intolerably and was no longer in a position to confirm when the time was right for euthanasia to go ahead.
The doctor was also of the opinion that the woman's circumstances made it clear the time was right now.
She secretly placed a sleeping pill in the patient's coffee and then gave her a a lethal injection.
The patient woke up while the doctor was trying to administer the injection and began fighting back.
Paperwork, which was given to a Regional Review Committee, showed that the only way the doctor could complete the injection was by getting family members to help restrain the patient.
It was also revealed that the patient said "I don't want to die" several times before she was put to death and the doctor did not speak to her about what was planned as she did not want to cause unnecessary distress.
The patient was also unaware that a sleeping pill was placed in her coffee.
The case come to light in a medical report which was prepared for a coroner in the Netherlands.
Euthanasia is legal in the country for people aged people aged 16 and over who are in "unbearable suffering" with no prospect of improvement.
Doctors who carry out the procedure are required to give a report to a coroner who then submits it to a regional review committee.
A review into the case concluded the doctor had acted in good faith but she should have stopped when the patient tried to resist.
The panel's recommendations will now be considered by prosecutors and health officials.
Jacob Kohnstamm said he was in favour of the case going to trial.
He said: "Not to punish the doctor, who acted in good faith and did what she had to do, but to get judicial clarity over what powers a doctor has when it comes to the euthanasia of patients suffering from severe dementia."
Last year it was reported Belgium Paralympic champion, Marieke Vervoort, admitted her life is growing so difficult she is considering euthanasia when she returns from the competition.
Vervoort suffers from an incurable spinal disease which not only causes huge pain but has also damaged her mentally.
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