by Bruno Waterfield, The Times
The number of young people in psychological distress being offered lethal injections has caused growing controversy in the Netherlands
A sharp rise in cases of euthanasia to end psychological suffering in the Netherlands has prompted a debate about the practice among young people.
Almost 10,000 patients died by euthanasia in the Netherlands last year. Compared with 2023, there was a 60 per cent increase in cases involving psychological suffering and a 10 per cent rise in deaths overall.
As Britain debates the right to die, the number of cases in the Netherlands, which introduced the legislation in 2001, reached 9,958 in 2024, making 5.8 per cent of the total number of deaths. There is growing controversy over young people given lethal injections for psychiatric illnesses, sometimes to prevent them from taking matters into their own hands.
“Are we still doing this right?” asked Jeroen Recourt, the president of RTE, a body comprising five regional oversight committees that monitor euthanasia cases after the lethal injection has been administered. “I welcome social debate on euthanasia due to mental suffering in young people.”