AMSTERDAM, February 8, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Dutch euthanasia activist group has launched an investigation, claiming physicians there are delaying or avoiding the fulfillment of requests for euthanasia from patients.
According to government statistics, more than half of euthanasia requests from patients in 2001 were never acted upon. Of the 9,700 requests for euthanasia lodged that year, 3,800 were actually carried out, as reported by Expatica.com. The doctors responded that one third of patients died before the request could be fulfilled; a further 20 percent did not fulfill the legal requirements for euthanasia.
But the Dutch Voluntary End to Life Association (NVVE) has launched a large-scale investigation, claiming that doctors are avoiding fulfilling the requests. NVVE plans to survey surviving relatives of euthanasia victims and petitioners.
NVVE director Rob Jonquière claimed that, of interviews conducted so far, it appears doctors are “looking for excuses” for not carrying out euthanasia. “We want to know how often this occurs,” Jonquière said.
The Netherlands was the first nation to legalize euthanasia, in 2001.
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Dutch Doctors Admit to Euthanizing Babies
Netherlands Passes World’s First Law Allowing Euthanasia
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