Euthanasia in the Netherlands

Abstract
The practice and regulation of euthanasia and assisted suicide in the Netherlands has attracted much attention. Opponents feel that the practice of euthanasia in the Netherlands must be presented as a deterrent to euthanasia elsewhere,*RF 1-6* but others view the situation in the Netherlands as an important development suggesting changes within their own countries or states.*RF 7-12* Since trustworthy empirical data have not been available until recently, moral viewpoints have coloured the estimated numbers of cases of euthanasia (and assisted suicide) and the way in which it is practised. Recent reports, however, have diminished this empirical uncertainty.*RF 13-18*