Dutch judges weigh assisted suicide appeal
A group campaigning for the right to die without medical
assistance launched an appeal against the Dutch state on Monday, seeking
to ease the restrictions on euthanasia and assisted suicide.
The Netherlands was the world's first country to legalise euthanasia and assisted suicide in 2002 but under very strict conditions.
Assisted suicide is only legal when performed by a doctor who has determined the patient's suffering is "unbearable with no prospect of improvement".
The physician must also conclude there is "no reasonable alternative" care and consult another independent colleague, who comes to the same conclusion.
Campaign group "Last Will Cooperative" (CLW) sued the state in 2022, arguing that these restrictions violated patients' rights to choose how and when they die.
The court found in favour of the state, prompting CLW to appeal to the Appeals Court in the Hague.
"The euthanasia law offers a solution for many but not a complete one. Nor is it sufficient for everyone," Tim Vis, lawyer for CLW, told the court.
The current laws "leave many out in the cold and do not offer a right to decide oneself over one's own end of life", said Vis.
A growing number of Dutch people are choosing to die by euthanasia.
In 2024, a total of 9,958 people died this way, according to official statistics.
This was a 10-percent rise compared to the previous year, according to the Regional Euthanasia Review Committee.
Euthanasia is when a doctor administers a lethal drug to end the life of a patient.
Assisted suicide is when a physician gives the patient a lethal substance to ingest.
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