The government is within its rights to limit the national breast cancer screening programme to women below the age of 75, the Hague district court ruled on Tuesday.

The case was brought by the national breast cancer association.
In the Netherlands, all women aged 50 to 75 are offered biannual screening for breast cancer. The over 75s are not covered by the scheme because, the government says, it is not cost effective.
The court did rule that older woman must be given a check up if they demand one via their doctor, news agency ANP said. At the moment, doctors only order tests for older women if there are medical reasons to do so.