Dutch court rules patients with advanced dementia can be euthanised
by Xavier Symons, Bio Edge:
The Supreme Court of the Netherlands has ruled that patients with advanced dementia can be euthanised, in a decision that clarifies one of the most controversial aspects of the country’s euthanasia law.
On Tuesday, the Hague-based court ruled that a doctor who had euthanised a elderly patient with severe dementia in 2015 was acting lawfully, and that an early written request for euthanasia is sufficient for patients who have suffered severe cognitive decline.
“A physician may carry out a written request beforehand for euthanasia in people with advanced dementia”, the Court found.
The same rules for euthanasia apply as in any other case, the court said. Patients must be experiencing “unbearable and endless suffering” and that at least two doctors must have agreed to carry out the procedure.
The patient must also have requested euthanasia before they could “no longer express their will as a result of advanced dementia”.
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