End-of-Life Practices in the Netherlands under the Euthanasia Act

In 1993, the Netherlands established a reporting procedure for euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, and most physicians who followed the guidelines were not prosecuted. Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide were not officially legalized until a law was passed in 2002. According to surveys of physicians conducted from 1990 through 2005, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide have remained uncommon, and the rates declined modestly after the practices were legalized. According to surveys of physicians conducted from 1990 through 2005, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide have remained uncommon, and the rates declined modestly after the practices were legalized. The increasing importance of chronic diseases as a cause of death and the attention currently being paid to patient-centered care at the end of life have created interest in the role of medicine in the timing and mode of death and dying. 1 In many instances, death is not merely the result of the natural course of a lethal disease: medical decision making often contributes. 2 – 5 Such decision making concerns the use of medical treatment to prolong the life of seriously ill patients. Furthermore, the alleviation of severe symptoms sometimes involves the use of drugs that have as a potential side . . .