The fight in the United States over the life of the severely brain damaged women Terri Schiavo has sparked intense interest in the Netherlands where euthanasia has been legal for three decades.

The case that has pitted the woman’s husband against her parents has repeatedly been on the front of Dutch newspapers in recent weeks and is leading television news bulletins.

Everyone seems to have an opinion on the case and most people stopped in the streets of Amsterdam on Monday seem to support Schiavo’s husband’s right to choose to end her life.

Before 1973 euthanasia was a crime in the Netherlands, known for its liberal attitudes on issues such as prostitution and drugs. That year a doctor was arrested and tried for killing her terminally ill mother with morphine.

The court gave her a suspended sentence of one week in jail and a year’s probation, setting a precedent that led courts to establish guidelines for when it was permissible for physicians to assist a patient in committing suicide.

“This isn’t something we are proud of as Dutch people, but how can we as healthy people tell someone that they don’t have the right to end a life that can only bring more suffering,” said Amsterdam schoolteacher Claudia Ruisbroek.

“I feel so sorry for the parents of Terri Schiavo, but if the doctors say there is no way to bring her out of the state she is in, then it is selfishness to fight to keep her alive.”

EUTHANASIA CASES

The precise number of euthanasia cases is hard to determine as not all doctors report them, but the government estimates that there are several thousand per year - including dozens of terminally ill or severely handicapped newborn babies.

According to the Catholic Educator’s Resource Centre, Dutch doctors assist about 3,600 people per year in committing suicide.

In 1984, the Royal Society of Medicine issued “rules of careful conduct” for euthanasia. They call for a doctor to inform a patient of his condition, consult relatives if the patient allows, and consult at least one other physician.

In the case of a child, a doctor must obtain the consent of the parents or legal guardians.

Schiavo’s husband and parents have battled for years over whether the 41-year-old woman wanted to live or die. U.S. courts have repeatedly upheld that her husband has the right to make the choice for her.

Some people interviewed on the streets of the Dutch capital found it ironic that the case of Schiavo, who doctors say is in an irreversible vegetative state, has raised such a furor in the United States given that the death penalty is legal there.

“If people are arguing that life is so sacred and that is why hers must be preserved, then how can they practise the death penalty?” said city employee Joep Hinton.

Utrecht resident Rudolph Strickwold said the issue was one of freedom: “I might not agree, but Mrs. Schiavo’s husband has made what can’t be an easy choice for him.

“I think people should have to respect it. He should have the freedom to make that choice for his wife.”