Rise in reported Dutch euthanasia cases

21/04/2005 - 10:14:08
In the Netherlands, where euthanasia has been legal since 2002, the number of reported cases rose last year to 1,886 from 1,815, the health ministry said today.

Euthanasia is legal for people who ask to die and are in unbearable suffering due to terminal illness with no hope of a cure. The ministry said the “great majority” had been suffering from cancer.

Regional review commissins have been set up to determine whether doctors who carry out euthanasia follow guidelines correctly.

These commissions said in their annual review published today that doctors had failed to follow guidelines in four cases, which were turned over to the justice ministry for possible prosecution.