Edward Brongersma
Edward Brongersma (August 31, 1911 – April 22, 1998) was for a number of years a member of the Dutch Eerste Kamer ("First Chamber" or Senate), and chairman of the Eerste Kamer's Judiciary Committee (1969–1977).
Edward Brongersma was born in Haarlem, in The Netherlands in 1911, the son of a medical doctor. He studied law at the Univertsity of Amsterdam (1931-1935) and for the next five years worked on his Doctor's thesis on Constitutional Law (in Portugal) and wrote articles for a number of legal and general interest publications. In 1940 he received the degree of Doctor of Law at the Catholic University of Nijmegen (cum laude).
During the war until 1950 he was a barrister in Amsterdam and in 1946 he became a Labour Party member of the First Chamber of the States General (the Dutch Upper House of Parliamant, or Senate). Both carreers were interrupted in 1950, when he was arrested, tried an convicted for having sex with a 16-year-old boy. After 11 month in prison he made a living as a journalist and in from 1956 to 1959 he became the director of the Federation for Social Assistance to Problem Families in Haarlem. Debarred with his conviction, he was reinstated at the bar in 1959 and thereafter carried on a legal practice in Haarlem until his retirement in 1980.
From 1960 until 1968 he was Chief Scientific Collaborator at the Crimonological Institute, State University Utrecht, and two years later the Labour Party asked him again to become a member of the Dutch Sebnate. From 1963 until 1977 he served his second period in the Upper House, from 1968 to 1977 as chairman of the Permanent Committe for Justice. In 1975 the Queen made him Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion for distinguished service as Member of Parlement.
He founded the Dr Edward Brongersma Foundation in 1979 to receive and preserve his collections of literature and private documents on sexuality and make it available on a confidential basis for responsible research.
Dr Brongersma has authored some 1200 books, articles and professional papers on law, politics, social conditions, philosophy and religion. Able to read virtually all of the Western European languages, he has written books on the Civil War in Spain, Portugal and the Portuguese, Penal Law and social problems. Beginning with his years at the Criminological Institue, he has written extensively in the area of sexuology, especially on pornography and paedophilia. His books on this subjects include : Das Verfehmte Geschlecht (on boy love, 1970), Sex en Staf (Sex and Punishment, 1972), Over pedofielen en kinderlokkers (On Paedophiles and Child Molesters, 1975), and his last work (magnus opum) is entitled Loving Boys (two volumes, 1988-1990). Since his retirement in 1980, he has devoted his time to the Brongersma Foundation collection of material on youthful sexuality and to public enlightment on sexual matters.
In April 1998 his life was ended with the help of his doctor, Sutorius euthanasia. Although he was neither terminally ill nor in any in any physical pain, he had 'lived his life' and believed his life was no longer worth living. Dutch law permits euthanasia only in cases where a person has a terminal illness, which did not appear to apply in Brongersma's case. He was afflicted with unbearable suffering of a psychological nature. The appeal court did not give Sutorius any sentence, on the grounds that he had acted from compassion. Both public and political discussions about legal euthanasia started all over again in the Netherlands, as a consequence of the "Brongersma-case".
After his death in 1998 the work of his Foundation was continued. Information about it's aim and research-projects are to be found at www.fondsseksualiteit.nl. See also www.brongersmastichting.nl. These two sites are also in the English Language.
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