Why legislate on euthanasia ?
In the Netherlands, euthanasia is understood to mean termination of life by a doctor at the request of a patient. The Dutch government does not turn a blind eye to the fact that euthanasia happens. The question of whether and how criminal liability for euthanasia should be restricted has been the subject of broad political and public debate for the past thirty years. The inclusion in the Criminal Code of a special ground for exemption from criminal liability means that doctors who terminate life on request or assist in a patients suicide can no longer be prosecuted, provided they satisfy the statutory due care criteria and notify death by non-natural causes to the appropriate regional euthanasia review committee. The main aim of the policy is to bring matters into the open, to apply uniform criteria in assessing every case in which a doctor terminates life, and hence to ensure that maximum care is exercised in such cases. Pain, degradation and the longing to die with dignity are the ma
