Medical Assistance in Dying

The state only knows the number of prescriptions written for aid-in-dying medications, the number of such prescriptions dispensed, and the subsequent deaths of patients to whom such medications were dispensed, but not whether the deaths were caused by ingesting the prescribed medication.38 A cancer patient in Colorado and his physician started a lawsuit in August 2019 challenging the policy of the [...] The Groningen Protocol has since been ratified by the Paediatric Association of the Netherlands, and doctors who respect the protocol’s requirements appear not to be prosecuted in the Netherlands, although the protocol is not an actual law.51 3.2 CURRENT STATE OF THE LAW In August 1999, the Dutch Minister of Justice and the Minister of Health tabled a legislative proposal in the House of Represent [...] The 2017 review concluded that the goals of the legislation were being met, while also making several recommendations regarding policy making and research.62 2018 was the first year that saw a reduction in the number of euthanasia and assisted suicide deaths since 2006.63 Research on the situation in the Netherlands shows that the majority of requests do not result in euthanasia or assisted suicid [...] It found that this is because the meaning and scope of the requirements have become clearer with more years of experience.69 The majority of cases of assisted suicide or euthanasia over the period addressed by the report (2007–2011) involving a patient with dementia related to individuals in the early stages of the disease who were still able to understand the illness and its symptoms.70 Nonethele [...] As in the Netherlands, the patient does not need to have a terminal illness or experience physical suffering, but must reside in the country.76 In 2014, the legislation was amended to permit a person of any age with the “capacity for discernment,” and who is conscious at the time of the request, to ask for euthanasia, although the conditions are narrower for minors who are not emancipated.