[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 26662]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                       PAIN RELIEF PROMOTION ACT

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Pain Relief 
Promotion Act. There is a question currently pending in the country of 
Holland. It is this: Is the Netherlands ready for the killing of sick 
children?
  There is a bill in their parliament that would allow the killing of 
seriously ill children, as young as between 12 years old, if they are 
considered terminal.
  A spokeswoman for the Royal Dutch Medical Association said, ``The 
doctor will do his utmost to try to reach an agreement between the 
patient and parents. But if the parents do not want to cooperate, it is 
the doctor's duty to respect the wishes of her patient.'' So much for 
the Hippocratic Oath for civilized medical institutions.
  This situation in the Netherlands gives us all the more reason to 
pass the Pain Relief Promotion Act. This act will provide doctors with 
the ability to aggressively treat their patients' pain while 
prohibiting assisted suicides or euthanasia.
  We never want to see the day when our young kids or our elderly 
parents legally and intentionally die at the hands of a so-called 
doctor.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill to promote pain management 
and


palliative care and positive alternatives to euthanasia.

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