European court starts hearing Hungarian right-to-die case

A left-wing columnist accuses the government of opposing euthanasia to please the conservative Catholic clergy.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) began hearing the case of Hungarian constitutional lawyer Daniel Karsai on Monday, who demands the right to end his own life before he is completely paralysed and unable to speak – within a year. Karsai, 47, is terminally ill with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Motor Neurone Disease. Euthanasia is illegal in Hungary. A verdict is expected early next year.

In Népszava, Tamás Beck vituperates against the government and the ‘integrist’ Catholic clergy, accusing them of trying to rule over every aspect of human life. As he sees it, both follow the principle of the ‘alliance of throne and altar’ rather than the separation of state and church. The outcome of the clash between the lawyer suffering from ALS and the government at the human rights court in Strasbourg, he writes, will be a harbinger of the kind of future awaiting the people of Hungary.

Tags: ECHR, euthanasia