On 22 June 2016 in Prague, the Czech Government voted against a draft bill presented by six MPs and aimed at allowing euthanasia under strict conditions.
The draft bill sought to grant euthanasia to terminally ill patients who had requested it. The bill also included the creation of a special commission responsible for checking compliance with the legal conditions.
Jan Mladek, Minister for Industry and Development, published the following comments on Twitter: “If this law were passed, it would lead to the uncontrolled death of citizens”. However, the Minister for Agriculture made the following announcement: “I support assistance, compassionate care, solidarity and palliative care at the highest level. This is the answer”.
The Czech Government refuses to follow the model of countries where euthanasia is legal. It pointed out that, “Obvious abuse of euthanasia has been proven in these countries in an attempt to free up hospital beds or driven by uncertain, unhealthy family pressures…”. Moreover, monitoring attempts to defraud the law is an arduous task and many cases would slip through the net.
Conversely, the Czech Government is calling for an in-depth debate on palliative care.
Institut Européen de Bioéthique 28/06/16, Prague Daily Monitor 23/06/2016