A man goes to the Constitutional Court with the right to euthanasia

“We expect the Constitutional Court to do the same as the courts in Germany, Austria or Canada. He will order the politicians and give them a deadline of maybe a year to adopt legislation that will allow assisted assistance, because it is a crime in our country,” Milan Hamerský from the association for the legalization of euthanasia told Novinkám. He will file a complaint on Friday.

The forty-six-year-old man has appealed to the Constitutional Court in nineteen different cases, so far he has not succeeded. Often it was about procedural complaints, he wanted to be exempt from the court fee, for example, he demanded compensation for damages from the Department of Justice. The submissions often had defects, which is why the court rejected them.

However, the association supports his efforts. “We want the Constitutional Court to say that according to the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, a person should have the right to euthanasia and it should not be a crime to assist him in it,” added Hamerský.

Petr Bartheldi has been on trial for the authorization of euthanasia since 2018. “So that people like me, with permanent damage to their health, have the option and can decide whether they want to continue to endure pain, or whether they want to leave this world voluntarily and with dignity,” he explained his intention . It is said that twenty-four years after the car accident, he learned from the doctors that his spine was painfully injured and that nothing could be done about it. “I don’t want to end up in LDN in a wheelchair. I would like to be able to end my life with dignity,” he said.

Man fails in Supreme Court appeal for euthanasia

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The change in the law is being promoted by ANO senator Věra Procházková, a doctor by profession. However, the legalization of euthanasia does not have much support among politicians, including those in the opposition. Procházková already submitted the proposal as a member of parliament in 2020. However, the Ministry of Health, which is suing Bartheldi, is against it.

“The proposal presented by the senator misplaces euthanasia and palliative care, which are two unrelated things. The proposal also does not address some issues related to, for example, criminal liability or system security,” outlined Deputy Minister of Health Václav Pláteník (KDU-ČSL).

The attitude of the Czech judiciary is also strict. The Supreme Court rejected Bartheldi’s appeal in February. He saw no reason to comply, as “actively causing the death of a patient, even at his request, out of compassion and with regard to his suffering, is assessed as a crime of murder in the Czech Republic” and the court’s decision will not change anything about that.

“Life and health are considered such important values that even if they concern a specific person, the social interest in protecting these goods prevails over the individual’s right to freely decide on these goods,” the Supreme Court said on appeal.

Neither the association nor the disabled pensioners agree with this and intend to dispute it in the Constitutional Court. They are convinced that this violated his freedom and right to die with dignity.

Medical Chamber against

The Czech Medical Chamber has long refused to allow assisted suicide. According to Zdeňko Mrozek, Chairman of the Scientific Council of the CLK, euthanasia leads people to simple solutions. Especially for people who have severe mental problems and see this as the only solution.

Legalization of euthanasia: A controversial topic in the government coalition

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“For me, the imaginary breaking of a certain barrier is to say that doctors are going to kill. After that, it’s very difficult to set a boundary,” Mrozek pointed out. “There are a lot of people we can’t help medically, but we can create a certain environment for them. Today, we have palliative medicine, which can help with physical pain,” he added.

Senator Procházková’s proposal would only apply to terminally ill adults who are able to consciously determine the procedure to end their life. Children and people with limited autonomy would be exempt.

The association emphasizes that doctors should have the right of “conscientious objection” and could refuse a patient’s request for euthanasia. “Our point of view is about respect for people’s decisions, nothing is imposed on anyone,” Hamerský added.