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Dutch parliament passes euthanasia bill |
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November 29, 2000
THE HAGUE (UNB/AP) - Parliament approved a bill Tuesday legalizing euthanasia and physician assisted suicide, which have been openly practice in the Netherlands for decades even though against the law. The bill passed the Second Chamber by a vote of 104-40. It still needs the approval of the Senate, which is considered a formality, and is expected to enter into force next year. The clerk of the chamber conducted a roll-call vote, as requested by a small Christian party which opposed the measure. Advocates say the law puts the Dutch in the vanguard of patient rights, while opponents say it will replace caring with killing. Euthanasia won legitimacy, if not legality, in 1993, when parliament approved guidelines under which it was understood doctors would not be prosecuted, even though it remained a crime punishable by a maximum 12-year prison sentence.
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