Implications of legalising euthanasia in The Netherlands: greater regulatory control?

Abstract

Euthanasia has been decriminalised in The Netherlands for the last 30 years, but it was only in April 2001 that the Dutch Parliament legalised voluntary physician-assisted suicide. The legislation incorporates developments in case law, including scope for peer review, and provides common ethical principles for a clear system of control over doctors' actions in regard to patients who request euthanasia. The legalised regulatory system may prove more effective in controlling voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia in The Netherlands than in countries where euthanasia remains illegal.