In April 2002, the Netherlands became the first country to legalise euthanasia and assisted suicide. It imposed a strict set of conditions: the patient must be suffering unbearable pain, their illness must be incurable, and the demand must be made in "full consciousness" by the patient. In 2010, 3,136 people were given a lethal cocktail under medical supervision.
So-called palliative sedation has also become a widespread practice in hospitals, with 15,000 cases a year since 2005, according to the Royal Dutch Medical Association. Patients with a life expectancy of two weeks or less are put in a medically induced coma, and all nutrition and hydration is withdrawn.
The legislation has provoked a fierce debate over the "right to suicide," because assisted suicide outside of the criteria set for euthanasia is still illegal and is counted as homicide.
"Around 10% to 15% of the people who come to us looking for information actually commit suicide", says Ton Vink, head De Einder (Horizon), a foundation that advises people contemplating suicide. To avoid prosecution, he never provides the medicine himself and is not around when somebody takes it. "Most of the people who contact us feel reassured by the information we provide and do not take their life away," he says. Sabine Cessou
In April 2002, the Netherlands became the first country to legalise euthanasia and assisted suicide. It imposed a strict set of conditions: the patient must be suffering unbearable pain, their illness must be incurable, and the demand must be made in "full consciousness" by the patient. In 2010, 3,136 people were given a lethal cocktail under medical supervision.So-called palliative sedation has also become a widespread practice in hospitals, with 15,000 cases a year since 2005, according to the Royal Dutch Medical Association. Patients with a life expectancy of two weeks or less are put in a medically induced coma, and all nutrition and hydration is withdrawn.The legislation has provoked a fierce debate over the "right to suicide," because assisted suicide outside of the criteria set for euthanasia is still illegal and is counted as homicide."Around 10% to 15% of the people who come to us looking for information actually commit suicide", says Ton Vink, head De Einder (Horizon), a foundation that advises people contemplating suicide. To avoid prosecution, he never provides the medicine himself and is not around when somebody takes it. "Most of the people who contact us feel reassured by the information we provide and do not take their life away," he says. Sabine Cessou
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