Minister welcomes investigation into teen suicide using ‘death powder’

Health minister Hugo de Jonge has welcomed the public prosecution department’s decision to investigate the suicide of a 19-year-old woman using a powder bought on the internet.

The young woman from Brabant killed herself three weeks ago and the public prosecutor wants to know if a right to die cooperative which claims to distribute the ‘suicide powder’ was involved in supplying the drug.

De Jonge said the death is ‘extremely worrying’. The Last Will Cooperative is on the verge of operating irresponsibly and may be committing a criminal offence, he said.

The girl’s parents told Trouw earlier this week that the powder should not be freely available. ‘It makes it very easy for someone to take such a step,’ the girl’s father said.

The cooperative hit the headlines last September with the ‘discovery’ of the deadly powder – a widely-available preservative – which is legally available.

The group campaigns for the right of people to end their own lives at the time of their choosing. Membership of the cooperative surged after the announcement, but it  came under fire for allowing people as young as 18 to join and for breaking the law which bans people from helping others to commit suicide.