After two successful years with its No-Kill Utah (NKUT) initiative, Utah is succeeding in its attempt to reduce the use of euthanasia for healthy animals in its shelters. In the two years that this initiative has been in place, the percentage of animals being saved in Utah shelters has increased from 71.3 percent in 2013, to 77.4 percent in 2014, all the way to 84.4 percent last year. Put another way, there has been a 10 percent increase in the number of animals saved from being euthanized without cause in shelters in Utah.

The NKUT initiative, which began in 2014, is headed by the Best Friends Animal Society, a nonprofit dedicated to ending the use of euthanasia in shelters across America and to reducing the number of homeless pets nationwide. The Best Friends Animal Society has a similar no-kill initiative in Los Angeles and it works with New York shelters to help improve the conditions for animals as well as decrease the number of pets killed in shelters each year.

What is the overall aim of these no-kill initiatives? Well, in order to be considered a no-kill state, the percentage of animals who leave a state shelter alive has to be at or above 90 percent. Typically, around the 10 percent of shelter animals who are euthanized in a given year are put down for serious medical or behavioral issues, which is considered humane euthanasia. Utah is on track to be a no-kill state by 2019 and Arlyn Bradshaw, Executive Director of Best Friends Animal Society, claims that Utah is paving the way for other states to do the same.

Two of the ways that NKUT is planning to accomplish these goals are by making spay and neuter services more widespread for animals and increasing adoptions of shelter animals. In theory, increasing accessibility of spay and neutering services will lower the overall number of animals entering shelters each year. Increasing the number of adoptions will, in turn, decrease the number of animals in shelters where they have the potential to be euthanized because of a lack of space or resources.

Why doesn’t every state already have these policies? The sad reality is that adopting no-kill policies can often be expensive and infeasible for states. There’s a significant debate in Chicago right now over whether or not shelters city-wide should be made no-kill shelters–a policy change that could cost them well beyond the current $5.59 million budget.

Chicago would need to "double" animal control's $5M+ budget to implement a no-kill policy https://t.co/pZJgp8oAwY pic.twitter.com/MSVGkqGjBV

— Kurt Gessler (@kurtgessler) April 4, 2016

Unfortunately, in a city that lacks funding for public education, it’s difficult to get people to rally around increasing animal shelter funds, especially when the public finds out that being “no-kill” is actually only saving 90 percent of the animals.

The good news? Advocates at the Best Friend Animal Society and animal rights activists across the country aren’t giving up. They have been working tirelessly to monitor animals going in and out of shelters and the organization created a marketing campaign to help find pets new homes. These advocacy efforts may seem small in comparison to city-wide changes, but they have a lasting impact on the community and can lead to policy change down the road.

Regardless of a state’s current shelter status (but a huge shout out to the state of Utah for its hard work and impressive results), the important thing to remember is that animal safety and security can begin on a small level. Each cat or dog that is adopted from a shelter is another cat or dog who is saved and another space available for other homeless pets in the area. So, when you head out to add a new member to your family, make sure to visit a shelter and rescue an animal in need! Even the smallest actions can make a big difference.

Alexandra Simone

Alex Simone is an Editorial Senior Fellow at Law Street and a student at The George Washington University, studying Political Science. She is passionate about law and government, but also enjoys the finer things in life like watching crime dramas and enjoying a nice DC brunch. Contact Alex at ASimone@LawStreetmedia.com

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Laura, a 24-year-old woman without a terminal illnesses, is making headlines after she qualified for euthanasia in Belgium. Euthanasia is the act of deliberately ending a person’s life to relieve them from a form of suffering. Although Laura does not have a life-threatening sickness, she has qualified for this procedure due to the depression she has dealt with for several years. We typically do not hear of stories like this occurring in the U.S. because there are very few states that have legalized euthanasia and there are strict regulations, including that the patient has to be terminally ill. However that’s not the case everywhere, and while the date of Laura’s death has not been decided yet, her story has raised many questions about the ethics of euthanasia worldwide.

Laura’s argument is pretty straightforward. She has been a patient of a psychiatric institution for the past three years and stated that she has tried to kill herself on multiple occasions. During both her childhood and adult life she suffered from “suicidal thoughts.” She told journalists, “Death feels to me not as a choice. If I had a choice, I would choose a bearable life, but I have done everything and that was unsuccessful.”

Although most states in the U.S. have not legalized it, seven out of ten Americans back euthanasia. The U.S., and other developed countries, can learn from the proliferation of the practice in various European nations. In 2002 Belgium became only the second country to legalize euthanasia, following the Netherlands. This allowed Belgian doctors to help patients end their lives if they expressed a wish to die to relieve suffering. Any competent adults and emancipated minors can request this procedure if they feel that what they are dealing with is beyond any medical help. In February of 2014, the Belgian Parliament passed a bill also allowing euthanasia for terminally ill children, although any children must have parental concent. This makes Belgium the first in the world to have legalized euthanasia without an age limit.

The country has had a large increase in euthanasia cases over the past few years. In 2013, 1,807 deaths were recorded as opposed to 2012 when there were 1,432 deaths recorded. More than half of the patients were over the age of 70, but recently younger patients have been requesting this procedure more frequently due to depression. Dr Marc Van Hoey, a general practitioner and president of the Right to Die Association in northern Belgium, is an open supporter of the law. Van Hoey told the Independent newspaper that he believes that sometimes this procedure is the kindest option. He stated,

I’ve seen quite a lot of persons dying in – how do you say in proper English – agony?…I never saw that when I gave someone euthanasia he or she asked for.

Although euthanasia is considered acceptable to many, there are people who are not in favor of this law at all. Carine Brochier, a project manager with the Brussels-based European Institute of Bioethics, believes that this law is leading to too many young people in Belgium dying. “Euthanasia is not the answer to all human suffering,” Brochier says. “We need to develop better palliative care for people,” something she believes Belgium is not currently doing. Opinions on euthanasia vary, but majorities have been supporting the law for the past two decades.

Euthanasia should be legal, should be about quality of life not sanctity of life. It shouldn’t be illegal if you want to stop the suffering

— Mark Bowden (@markbowdn) May 26, 2015

Euthanasia should just be made legal, no one should have to suffer in their own bodies not being able to do anything about it

— michael cum thru (@hurrymgc) December 14, 2014

No, euthanasia should not be legal and God owns your life. Believer or not, it’s the truth #ontopictalkshow

— Sema. (@Sema187) May 31, 2015

In contrast, in the U.S. euthanasia is legal in four states. Montana requires those seeking the procedure to be a “terminally ill, competent patient.” Oregon, Washington, and Vermont have also legalized euthanasia but require patients requesting it to be 18 years old or older and a resident of the state. The patient must also be capable of making and communicating health care decisions for himself and have been diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months.

This has been a particularly controversial debate because it’s impossible to truly analyze how someone is feeling. In a case like Laura’s, it seems to go against accepted norms to not work with her to treat her depression. Detractors from euthanasia worry that it gives the doctor too much power and romanticizes death. On the other hand, advocates argue that allowing euthanasia gives people control over their own lives. Whether or not we’ll see euthanasia become legalized in the U.S. to the same extent as Belgium any time soon is questionable, but Laura’s story certainly sparked many questions.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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