After his late partner suffered severe brain injury, Mr. van Loenen was shocked by an acquaintance who said of his partner "he would be better off dead." What are the origins of such a judgment? This important analysis connects North America's future with Holland's euthanasia experience. Gerbert van Loenen is a Dutch journalist - correspondent in the Netherlands and in Germany. As deputy editor-in-chief of the Dutch daily newspaper "Trouw," he has followed the historic changes in the euthanasia laws in the Netherlands.