Dutch euthanasia deaths up again in 2015: jumped 50% in five years

May 6, 2016 by

by Jeanne Smits, LifeSite:

Euthanasia statistics for 2015 have been released in the Netherlands, showing a significant increase of 4 percent as compared with 2014. The rise is mainly due to the increase of euthanasia for demented, elderly people as well as psychiatric patients, two categories that raise even more questions than “ordinary” euthanasia for untreatable physical pain.

In 2015, 109 demented persons (against 81 in 2014) were killed while still “mentally competent” enough to express their own will. 56 patients with psychiatric disorders were put to death at their own request in 2015, a sharp rise from the 41 such cases recorded in 2014. In this last category, the End of Life Clinic was involved in most cases. Out of a total of 5,561 reported euthanasia acts – compared with the 3,695 reported five years earlier – four were deemed not to be in compliance with the Dutch euthanasia law. Two of them were handled by the End of Life Clinic. But no legal action will be taken, reports the protestant conservative daily, Trouw.

In both cases, doctors appointed by the End of Life Clinic were faulted by the regional euthanasia supervisory commission for not having acted in compliance with the full criteria of the law. This would normally open the way for a penal process to be opened against the offender. By deciding not to act, the competent authorities appear to be retroactively justifying certain forms of illegal euthanasia – this is exactly how the “slippery slope” concept works.

In the Netherlands, euthanasia, the deliberate killing of a human being – supposedly at his or her request – is in principle a penal offense. Compliance with a “strict” list of criteria, which include “unbearable suffering,” the lack of alternative therapy, and “no possibility” that the patient’s situation will improve, allows doctors to escape both trial and punishment. But they are expected to report all acts, with a wealth of details, for them to be vetted by one of the five regional euthanasia supervisory commissions.

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