Voluntary euthanasia group plans to set up ‘help to die’ teams
The Dutch voluntary euthanasia society is proposing to set up mobile teams of doctors and nurses who can help people to die in their own homes, the AD reports on Wednesday.
The idea of the teams stems from the society’s wish to set up a special clinic where people can come to die, which the NVVE announced in January.
‘Most people want to die at home,’ an NVVE spokesman told the paper. The clinic is still on the cards, but will only have a couple of beds for people who cannot die at home, the spokesman said.
The NVVE says only a third of the 10,000 euthanasia requests made every year are actually honoured. This is because the request procedure is complicated and many doctors are not aware of the finer points of the law, the organisation argues.
The number of reported deaths by euthanasia rose 13% to 2,636 in 2009. Some 80% of people who opt for mercy killing die at home.
Euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands under strict conditions. For example, the patient must ‘suffering unbearably’ and the doctor must be convinced the patient is making an informed choice. The opinion of a second doctor is also required.
For the Dutch euthanasia rules in English, click here
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