Netherlands euthanasia report: 9% more deaths in 2020.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Senay Boztas reported for the Dutchnews.nl  that there were more euthanasia deaths in the Netherlands than ever before. According to the Netherlands euthanasia report there were 6938 reported euthanasia deaths in 2020 up by 9% from 6361 in 2019. Boztas reported:

All but two of these were judged to have met the six legal requirements...

The number of euthanasia cases exceeds the previous peak of 2017, when there were 6585 deaths. Numbers fell after a doctor was prosecuted but eventually found not guilty of manslaugher for a controversial procedure involving a woman with advanced dementia.

This confirms my comments in previous years when I stated that the drop in Netherlands euthanasia deaths was based on the controversial court cases. Fewer euthanasia deaths occurred in 2019 because doctors didn't want to be brought before a tribunal or court to justify why they lethally injected a patient.

It is possible that there are many unreported euthanasia deaths. According to research 20% - 23% of the euthanasia deaths are not reported in the Netherlands. 

Boztas reported that Jeroen Recourt, the chairman of the euthanasia commission was not surprised by this growth.

The data indicated that four euthanasia deaths were connected to the Coronavirus. Boztas also reported that:

As in previous years, dementia was a factor in 2% of the deaths, and psychiatric disorders represented just over 1%. The vast majority of people had terminal cancer, and just two people had advanced dementia.

The Expertisecentrum Euthanasie, formerly called the End of Life Clinic, did however deal with 221 fewer requests than in the previous year, according to its annual report. The body is an option for people whose GP cannot or will not grant a request, or to support complex cases, and last year it was involved with 899 euthanasia procedures.

The Netherlands government announced last year that they intend to extend a form of euthanasia to children under the age of 12 and that they are considering expanding the law to include people who have no medical issues but are "tired of living."

More articles on this topic:

• The Netherlands government intends to extend euthanasia to children but not to people who are tired of living (Link).
• The Dutch government wants to avoid the debate by permitting child euthanasia without changing the law (Link).

Chairman of the RTE Jeroen Recourt told Trouw that he was not surprised by this growth. ‘These figures are part of a larger development,’ he reportedly said. ‘More and more generations see euthanasia as a solution for unbearable suffering…and the thought that euthanasia is an option for hopeless suffering brings [many people] peace.’

Read more at DutchNews.nl:

Chairman of the RTE Jeroen Recourt told Trouw that he was not surprised by this growth. ‘These figures are part of a larger development,’ he reportedly said. ‘More and more generations see euthanasia as a solution for unbearable suffering…and the thought that euthanasia is an option for hopeless suffering brings [many people] peace.’

Read more at DutchNews.n

Chairman of the RTE Jeroen Recourt told Trouw that he was not surprised by this growth. ‘These figures are part of a larger development,’ he reportedly said. ‘More and more generations see euthanasia as a solution for unbearable suffering…and the thought that euthanasia is an option for hopeless suffering brings [many people] peace.’ For four people, contracting the coronavirus had a role in their request for an assisted death, but Recourt said that social problems such as increased loneliness are not considered valid medical grounds.

Read more at DutchNews.nl:

Chairman of the RTE Jeroen Recourt told Trouw that he was not surprised by this growth. ‘These figures are part of a larger development,’ he reportedly said. ‘More and more generations see euthanasia as a solution for unbearable suffering…and the thought that euthanasia is an option for hopeless suffering brings [many people] peace.’

Read more at DutchNews.nl:

All but two of these were judged to have met the six legal requirements, which include that someone has carefully thought over the request and makes it freely, and is suffering unbearably with no other reasonable prospect of relief.

Read more at DutchNews.nl:

All but two of these were judged to have met the six legal requirements, which include that someone has carefully thought over the request and makes it freely, and is suffering unbearably with no other reasonable prospect of relief.

Read more at DutchNews.nl: