Can people come from other countries to seek euthanasia in the Netherlands?
This is impossible, given the need for a close doctor-patient relationship. The legal procedure for the notification and assessment of each individual case of euthanasia requires the patient to have made a voluntary, well-considered request and to be suffering unbearably without any prospect of improvement. In order to be able to assess whether this is indeed the case, the doctor must know the patient well. This implies that the doctor has treated the patient for some time. Granting a request for euthanasia places a considerable emotional burden on the doctor. Doctors do not approach the matter lightly. From this point of view too, longstanding personal contact between the doctor and the patient plays an important role.
