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Czechs practicing euthanasia, doctors say

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WASHINGTON (BP)–Euthanasia is being practiced in the Czech Republic, even though it is against the law, some doctors have acknowledged.

At a recent meeting of the Czech Doctors’ Academy, no physician raised his hand when a speaker asked if anyone is convinced euthanasia is not used in the country, according to an Aug. 26 Czech News Agency report on an article in the daily newspaper Mlada fronta Dnes.

Euthanasia involves the deliberate administration of drugs to cause a person’s death rather than to relieve his suffering.

The Czech Senate defeated last September a bill to legalize euthanasia.

Three European countries — The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg — permit euthanasia. Switzerland allows physician-assisted suicide, which involves a doctor prescribing lethal drugs for a patient to use in taking his own life. In assisted suicide, the physician may not administer the drugs.
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Compiled by Baptist Press Washington bureau chief Tom Strode.

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