Euthanasia cases rose 10% last year
Friday 29 May 2009
A total of 2,331 people made official requests for help with killing themselves under euthanasia legislation last year, a 10% increase on 2007, Nos tv reports on Friday.
The figure comes from the annual report published by the five regional euthanasia monitoring committees.
In total, 10 cases of assisted suicide were found not to have followed official guidelines and have been referred to the public prosecution department and health inspectorate for their comments, chairman Jan Suyver told Radio 1.
Under Dutch rules, a number of criteria which must be met before euthanasia can be administered. For example, the patient must be suffering unbearable pain and the doctor must be convinced the patient is making an informed choice. The opinion of a second doctor is also required.
© DutchNews.nl
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