The Netherlands debates rise in euthanasia cases

Doctors in the Netherlands have been told to use "great caution" in dealing with euthanasia cases after figures revealed there was a 10 percent rise in such cases in the country in 2024.

Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide were made legal in the country in 2002, and it still has some of the world's most liberal laws on the practice.

There is no requirement for a patient to be near death, and the current rules say a doctor can end a patient's life if several conditions are met, such as it being their voluntary, considered decision, and there being no prospect of any change to their diagnosed medical state, which currently includes dementia and mental illness.