>> doctor, how many euthanasias have you performed yourself? >> more than 100. >> sreenivasan: next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. additional support is provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios in lincoln center in new york, hari sreenivasan. this is pbs newshour weekend. >> sreenivasan: good evening. thanks for joining us. western europe remains on high alert following the twin terror attacks in france and the foiled terror plot in belgium. in athens today, authorities arrested four men reportedly involved in the thwarted attack on belgian police. in yemen, where the terror attacks against france were hatched, the president's chief of staff was kidnapped by gunmen. and protests continued today around the world over cartoon depict

i am, however, somewhat dubious about using euthanasia on psychiatric patients. not because i doubt their suffering, but because i doubt their mental competency to make a life altering decision." hana sheala added: "i live with muscular dystrophy and i hope euthanasia will not be legal, that there always are alternatives for being self determined even as a vented functional quadriplegic." there was this from lstcaress: "after suffering from severe depression for thirty years and growing tired of being a drugged zombie, i'm appalled i'm not allowed this option." and from michelle a. mead: "my mother and my cat were both dying at the same time. one of them was allowed to die with dignity. it was not my mother." others commented about the provision in the belgian law that allows for terminally ill children to choose euthanasia with their parents consent. briee della rocca added: "i wish we had this in the states. everyone, even children, should be allowed to free themselves from unending pain and terminal conditions where treatment is only torture." beth deroos said

last year alone, more than 1,800 people there chose to die by euthanasia, an average of about five peregan thompson reports. >> in belgium it's not just the terminally ill that can request euthanasia but psychiatric patients, et cetera. is that pushing the boundaries? >> i don't think so. she's a lawyer and co-chairman of euthanasia control and evaluation commission which oversees the practice in belgium. >> the law utilizes terminally ill patients on the one hand and on the other hand for patients who are not terminally ill but completely hopeless there is a respect to the individual autonomy. i think it's a major advance in the way society and philosophy see this important issue. >> woodruff: that's tomorrow night on pbs newshour weekend. and we'll be back, right here, on monday, when we travel to nevada to see how the president's actions on immigration affect families. that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff, have a nice weekend. thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: i.b.e.w. the power professionals in your neighborhood. >>

the issues that always divide modern public opinion are the real life issues: family gender, euthanasia and so on. but so far, he's carefully avoided all the issues that would lead to conflict. >> a real minefield in the life of this pope, because it's such a big issue in the catholic church and it's not gone away, even though they're singing hosannas to him right now, and that's the sexual abuse of minors, clergy sex abuse. i know a lot of catholics would like it to be over but it's not. we're seeing new cases all the time. if the pope doesn't come out and set very clear, transparent and public guidelines and make statements, i think this could cripple him. >> if he wants to change the direction of the institutional church, it's going to mean decisive, risky action and it's risky to take on the vatican curia. there are many in the curia that are trembling, wondering what's going to happen and trying to figure out ways to neutralize their fears that he is going to start shaking things up. if that starts and it begins to unravel, there's a lot of string in that ball. >> (translated): all