DUTCH NURSE GETS LIFE IN PRISON FOR KILLING PATIENTS
AMSTERDAM, March 25,
2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a case that has caused some in the
Netherlands to rethink the country's law permitting euthanasia, Lucy
de Berk, 41, was sentenced to life in prison Monday for the murder
of three young children and an elderly woman. De Berk, a nurse, was
charged with killing 13 patients in her care but was only convicted
of the four murders.
Like the doctors which commit legal euthanasia in the country, De
Berk administered lethal drug doses to her victims. "The victims
were sick and defenseless babies, children and elderly people who
were entrusted to the accused's nursing care and who depended on her
entirely for their life and welfare," said presiding judge Jeanne
Kalk.
De Berk's diary entries read in court indicated that she believed
she was helping people by euthanizing them - an argument popular
with pro-euthanasia groups. "I gave in to my compulsions ... I don't
even know why I am doing it ... Still I hope I am helping people by
this!," she wrote.
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2003/mar/03032504.html
See the Reuters coverage:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030324/wl_nm/dutch_nurse_dc_6