Euthanasia could be option for poor, says Lithuanian health minister

by Michael Cook
25 Jul 2014    
              

Euthanasia might be needed for poor people who cannot access palliative care, the new Lithuanian Health Minister has suggested . Rimante Salaseviciute was sworn earlier this month, but already she has made waves by backing an open discussion of the legalisation of euthanasia.

Without making any specific proposals, she told local media that Lithuania was not a welfare state with palliative care available for all and that euthanasia might be an option for people who did not want to torment relatives with the spectacle of their suffering.

The minister has also raised the idea of euthanasia for children . She noted that this option had been approved for Belgian children after a long public debate. It was an option which might be appropriate in Lithuania as well .