Self-determined deaths continue to rise in The Netherlands
An old lady in a nursing home is visited by a relative. Photo ANP, Roos Koole
Western Europe
Of every 20 deaths, one is self-determined in The Netherlands. That is shown by new statistics.
Compared to 2021, the number of granted euthanasia requests grew by 13.7 per cent. That is shown by the annual report of the Regional Review Committees that keep an eye on the euthanasia practice in the country. In total, the Committees received 8720 requests for euthanasia. That is about 5.1 per cent of all the people who died last year. In 2021, this percentage was still 4.6, the Dutch daily Reformatorisch Dagblad writes.
The committees say they do not have an explanation for the growing trend that has been ongoing for the last couple of years because of a lack of research. They also do not dare to predict where this trend is going.
Earlier, the special End-of-Life Clinic in The Netherlands also reported an increase in self-determined deaths, as Trouw reported at the time.
Goal
Jeroen Recourt, President of the Review Committees, concludes that the euthanasia practice is carried out carefully and transparently. That was also the original goal of the euthanasia law in The Netherlands, he points out, as the Reformatorisch Dagblad reports.
However, the Reformatorisch Dagblad adds that the review of euthanasia requests is not becoming stricter as the number of requests continues to grow. Instead, the criteria seem to become soberer.
The annual report of the Review Committees states that only 0.15 per cent of the requests was deemed 'uncareful'. However, the Reformatorisch Dagblad points out that 95 per cent of the requests are reviewed by a selection that is easy to pass. Only one of the three members of the review commission, the judicial secretary, looks at the dossier. He or she estimates whether the information is complete and whether the doctor has met all the judicial requirements of carefulness. The rest of the commission then approves the document digitally. Only 0.5 per cent of the requests is passed on for a deeper review during a meeting of the commission.
Document
The Dutch daily points out that this raises the question of whether this way of reviewing cases gives the Committees sufficient view on the euthanasia practice in The Netherlands. Earlier research showed that not all physicians document their euthanasia practices carefully. It is, therefore, a bit strange that many reviews are done based on these documentations, the Reformatorisch Dagblad notes.
Also, more than half of the doctors in senior's homes feel pressure from relatives of the patient to decide to euthanise the patient. The same applies to general practitioners.
And another side note to the annual report is that doctors do not always document the euthanasias they carry out. Therefore, about a fifth of the cases is unknown and cannot be checked.
At the same time, the report shows that the cases of euthanasia for mental and psychological reasons are always checked and reviewed carefully. In these cases, a psychiatrist and an independent doctor have to give the green light for self-determined death as well.
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