The number of people in the Netherlands who died by euthanasia increased by 10% last year, figures have shown, as the official watchdog warned doctors to exercise “great caution” in cases where person has a psychiatric illness.
The Netherlands, which has one of the world’s oldest and broadest euthanasia laws, allows doctors to end a person’s life if they are “suffering unbearably, with no prospect of improvement”. They must be diagnosed with a medical condition, but this can include a mental illness or dementia.
