Damianos welcomes ‘constructive’ discussion on euthanasia
Health Minister Michael Damianos on Monday welcomed a “constructive” discussion on euthanasia at the House human rights committee earlier that morning.
He said the matter “can be discussed at a later stage”, and added that the government’s position on the subject “has been formed through consultation with our social partners”, with this position at present appearing to still be in the process of being formed.
With this in mind, he said that with the new community nursing law having been passed by parliament last month and a bill foreseeing the opening of new palliative care centres submitted to parliament, “when those structures are operating effectively, the discussion on euthanasia will be able to proceed”.
He added that to this end, the government’s “immediate priority” is the “full development and operation of palliative care structures”, with the aim of “ensuring that our fellow people receive appropriate care and support during the final stage of their lives”.
Asked about possible delays in the implementation of palliative care structures, he said the government has submitted “around 15” pieces of legislation to parliament aimed at upgrading Cyprus’ health system in the past 18 months, and that delays had only come about because of “delays in submitting legislation from previous years”.
Responsibility for these delays, therefore, “does not belong to the current government”, he said, before adding that it is “crucial” that the bill on palliative care has now been submitted to parliament.
Akel MP Irene Charalambides had last year put forward a bill on the matter of euthanasia, with that bill prompting the beginning of committee discussions on the matter last month.
Charalambides’ bill includes a number of safeguards, including mandated consultations with a medical board, psychologists and psychiatrists with the aim of ensuring that the decision is being made for valid medical reasons.
Euthanasia is currently legal in nine countries, with the Netherlands the first in the world to legalise it in 2002. Since then, Belgium, Luxembourg, Colombia, Canada, Spain, New Zealand, Portugal, and most recently Ecuador have all made euthanasia legal.
Meanwhile, a number of other countries allow assisted dying. Assisted dying is different to euthanasia; euthanasia is when a doctor administers a drug to kill a patient, and assisted dying is when a doctor gives the drug to the patient, who takes it themself.
Assisted dying is legal in Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, 10 states and the District of Columbia in the United States, and everywhere in Australia with the exception of Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, with the Australian Capital Territory set to legalise assisted dying in November.
In Cyprus, Charalambides’ bill had faced some pushback from both the Cyprus medical association and patients’ federation Osak, with both expressing concern that a change in the law would encourage people suffering from a disease to look for an end.
The debate surrounding euthanasia and assisted dying in Cyprus became a topic of discussion during and after the trial of British pensioner David Hunter, who killed his wife in Paphos.
Hunter’s wife, Janice, was suffering from a form of cancer and he was tried after killing her.
He told the court his wife had begged him to kill her. He was eventually found guilty of manslaughter and released after having served 19 months in prison while awaiting his trial.