The former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Dries van Agt, died last week by euthanasia. The 93-year-old ex-prime minister died at the same time as his wife.
Former Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dries van Agt and her Eugenie-their spouses were together for more than 70 years.
The 93-year-old elderly received a lethal injection last Monday. They had chosen assisted death by mutual decision.
Ending one’s life with assistance of one’s own will has come up for discussion in different parts of Europe, especially in Catholic countries.
In the Netherlands, couples who have been together for a long time are asking for euthanasia more and more often. Write about it, among other things British magazine The Guardian.
In 2020, euthanasia was granted to 26 couples with their partner. In 2022, there were 58 pairs.
The former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Dries van Agt, was very ill, according to people around him. He suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in 2019, but never fully recovered from the attack.
A total of 9,000 people were euthanized annually in the Netherlands in 2022.
One thousand euthanasia requests per year
Spokesperson for the Expertisecentrum Euthanasie organization that promotes euthanasia Elke Swart says in The Guardian magazine that euthanasia is granted to about a thousand people a year in the Netherlands.
The conditions and grounds for parie euthanasia deal with other requests in more detail, because the matter is sensitive and morally multidimensional.
– Interest is increasing, but cases are rare. Two people rarely suffer unreasonably without the possibility of relief at the same time, and that they both wish for euthanasia, says spokesperson Elke Swart.
Citizen initiative on euthanasia in Finland
In January, the Finnish Medical Association announced the results of a survey on euthanasia aimed at doctors in 2023.
54.5 percent of the doctors fully or partially support the legalization of euthanasia. Euthanasia is opposed by 40.3 percent of doctors. The difference in the number of supporters and opponents has clearly grown since the previous survey in 2020.
Allowing physician-assisted suicide was supported by 49.2 percent of doctors and opposed by 44.3 percent of doctors.
The Right to a dignified death association promotes a citizens’ initiative in Finland, which calls for the legalization of euthanasia.
Reuters, AFP