Nearly 10,000 people living in the Netherlands were euthanized last year, marking a 10% increase from the year before and a 60% increase in those suffering from psychological conditions, according to a recent report.
The Regional Euthanasia Review Committees (RTE) reported Monday that there were 9,958 reports of euthanasia in the Netherlands in 2024, comprising 5.8% of the total mortality rate in the nation.
According to RTE, 86.29% of the reports were due to “common physical conditions” like cancer, heart issues, nervous system disorders and lung disorders. There were 427 reports of euthanasia being granted to those suffering from dementia, while 219 reports derived from at least one psychological disorder, up from 138 in 2023.
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In six cases, the physician performing the assisted suicide did not comply with what the RTE called “the due care requirements when providing euthanasia,” the researchers found.
Last year, a minor reportedly received euthanasia “due to unbearable suffering as a result of a physical condition.” Also, there were 54 instances of what the report dubbed “duo euthanasia,” in which a couple opted to die together.
Some experts, among them Damiaan Denys, a professor of psychiatry at Amsterdam University Medical Center, have expressed concern over the report, namely over increased requests for assisted suicide among young people suffering from mental health issues.
“Although the absolute numbers are still low, there is a recent, enormous increase in requests and euthanasia performed in patients with psychological complaints, especially in young people under 30,” said Denys, as quoted by The Guardian.
“This is controversial because it is unclear whether young people at that age can meet the due diligence criteria. How can one, at that age, determine with certainty that a young person with a still-developing brain definitely wants to die, that life is experienced as hopeless and without prospects and that all treatments have already been carried out?”
Others, among them Fransien van ter Beek of the Dutch pro-euthanasia group NVVE, have argued that the limits on who can qualify for the procedure remain too restrictive.
“We see that people with a euthanasia request still end up in a maze too often,” she stated, as quoted by The Times. “Fortunately, more and more people are eventually able to find their way out.”
The Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia in 2001, following around three decades of debate and in spite of protests from multiple Christian groups.
The 2001 law included various restrictions: allowing it only for patients suffering from constant incurable pain, a mandated second opinion and patients had to have a sound mind.
In November 2023, a poll by Kieskompas of nearly 200,000 people found that 80% of the Dutch supported enabling elderly people who feel they’ve reached the end of their lives to obtain assisted suicide, even if they were not terminally ill.
