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In 2002 Netherlands legalized euthanasia. The law codified a twenty year old convention of not persecuting doctors who have committed euthanasia in very specific cases, under very specific circumstances. The ministry of Health claims that this practice "allows a person to end their life in dignity after having received every available type of palliative care."[1] Wikibooks Cookbook has an article on Dutch cuisine Dutch cuisine is characterized by its somewhat limited diversity in relation to diner dishes, however it varies greatly from region to region. ...
This article deals with the culture of the Netherlands. ...
The Dutch have a code of etiquette, the code that governs the expectations of social behaviour, and it is considered very important. ...
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Holidays in the Netherlands: Categories: | | ...
The Politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy and a constitutional monarchy. ...
The drug policy of the Netherlands is based on 2 principles: Drug use is a public health issue, not a criminal matter A distinction between hard drugs and soft drugs exists It is a pragmatic policy. ...
Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands. ...
The Netherlands has allowed same-sex marriage since April 1, 2001. ...
Legal framework
Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide (Review Procedures) Act took effect on April 1, 2002. It legalizes euthanasia and physician assistance in dying in very specific cases, under very specific circumstances. The law was proposed by Els Borst, the D66 minister of Health. The procedures codified in the law had been a convention of the medical community for over twenty years. Prof. ...
Democraten 66 (D66), is a social liberal party in the Netherlands. ...
The law allows medical review board to suspend persecution of doctors who performed euthanasia when each of the following conditions is fulfilled:
- the patient's suffering is unbearable with no prospect of improvement
- the patient's request for euthanasia must be voluntary and persist over time (the request can not be granted when under the influence of others, psychological illness or drugs)
- the patient must be fully aware of his/her condition, prospects and options
- there must be consultation with at least one other independent doctor who needs to confirm the conditions mentioned above
- the death must be carried out in a medically appropriate fashion by the doctor or patient, in which case the doctor must be present.
- the patient is at least 12 years old (patients between 12 and 16 years of age require the consent of their parents)
The doctor must also report the cause of death to the municipal coroner in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Burial and Cremation Act. A regional review committee assesses whether a case of termination of life on request or assisted suicide complies with the due care criteria. Depending on its findings, the case will either be closed or, if the conditions are not met brought to the attention of the Public Prosecutor. Finally, the legislation offers an explicit recognition of the validity of a written declaration of will of the patient regarding euthanasia (a "euthanasia directive"). Such declarations can be used when a patient is in a coma or otherwise unable to state whether they want euthanasia or not. A coroner is either the presiding officer of a special court, a medical officer or an officer of law responsible for investigating deaths, particularly those happening under unusual circumstances. ...
A living will, also called will to live, advance health directive, or advance health care directive, is a specific type of power of attorney or health care proxy or advance directive. ...
Comatose redirects here. ...
Euthanasia remains a criminal offense in cases not meeting the law's specific conditions, with the exception of several situations that are not subject to the restrictions of the law at all, because they are considered normal medical practice:
- stopping or not starting a medically useless (futile) treatment
- stopping or not starting a treatment at the patient's request
- speeding up death as a side-effect of treatment necessary for alleviating serious suffering
Euthanasia of children under the age of 12 remains technically illegal, however Dr. Eduard Verhagen has documented several cases and, together with colleagues and prosecutors, has developed a protocol to be followed in those cases. Prosecutors will refrain from pressing charges if this Groningen protocol is followed. Adverse effect, in medicine, is an abnormal, harmful, undesired and/or unintended side-effect, although not necessarily unexpected, which is obtained as the result of a therapy or other medical intervention, such as drug/chemotherapy, physical therapy, surgery, medical procedure, use of a medical device, etc. ...
Eduard Verhagen is clinical director of pediatrics at the University of Groningen. ...
Practice In 2003, in the Netherlands, 1626 cases were officially reported of euthanasia in the sense of a physician assisting the death (1.2% of all deaths). Usually the sedative sodium thiopental is intravenously administered to induce a coma. Once it is certain that the patient is in a deep coma, typically after some minutes, a muscle relaxant is administered to stop the breathing and cause death. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
A sedative is a substance which depresses the central nervous system (CNS), resulting in calmness, relaxation, reduction of anxiety, sleepiness, slowed breathing, slurred speech, staggering gait, poor judgment, and slow, uncertain reflexes. ...
Sodium thiopental also called Sodium Pentothal (a trademark of Abbott Laboratories), thiopental, thiopentone sodium, or trapanal is a rapid-onset, short-acting barbiturate general anesthetic. ...
An intravenous drip in a hospital Intravenous therapy or IV therapy is the administration of liquid substances directly into a vein. ...
Comatose redirects here. ...
A muscle relaxant is a drug which decreases the tone of a muscle. ...
For the play Breath by Samuel Beckett, see Breath (play). ...
Officially reported were also 148 cases of physician assisted dying (0.14% of all deaths), usually by drinking a strong (10g) barbiturate potion. The doctor is required to be present for two reasons: Barbiturates are drugs that act as central nervous system (CNS) depressants, and by virtue of this they produce a wide spectrum of effects, from mild sedation to anesthesia. ...
A potion (from Latin potio, potionis, meaning beverage, potion, poison) is a drinkable medicine or poison. ...
- to make sure the potion is not taken by a different person, by accident (or, theoretically, for "unauthorized" suicide or perhaps even murder)
- to monitor the process and be available to apply the combined procedure mentioned below, if necessary.
In two cases the doctor was reprimanded for not being present while the patient drank the potion. They said they had not realized that this was required.
Forty-one cases were reported to combine the two procedures: usually in these cases the patient drinks the potion, but this does not cause death. After a few hours, or earlier in the case of vomiting, the muscle relaxant is administered to cause death. Vomiting (also throwing up or emesis) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of ones stomach through the mouth. ...
By far, most reported cases concerned cancer patients. Also, in most cases the procedure was applied at home. Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these cells to invade other tissues, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis. ...
Social debate The legislation has wide support among the socially libertarian Dutch, who have one of the world's highest life expectancies. There is however persistent opposition, mainly from the orthodox protestant Political Reformed Party and the ChristianUnion, which call for more attention for palliative care and the eventual illegalization of the procedure. World map of life expectancy Life expectancy is a statistical measure defined as the expected (mean) survival of human beings based upon a number of criteria such as gender and geographic location. ...
The Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP, literally Constitutional Reformed Party) is a Dutch constitutional theocratic political party following conservative Christian principles, in the tradition of the Dutch Reformed Church. ...
The ChristianUnion (in Dutch: ChristenUnie, CU) is a relatively young Dutch orthodox Protestant political party. ...
Palliative care (from Latin palliare, to cloak) is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of the symptoms of a disease or slows its progress rather than providing a cure. ...
In 1992 Huib Drion, a member of the Dutch high court proposed to develop and legalize a drug, which is now known as Drion's Pill. This fictional drug would be a set of 2 pills. The first pill could be taken without any harm, the second pill would have to be taken a couple of days later (and only then would work). This would give the patient the time to think things over. The main goal of this drug would be to allow people who have unbearable psychological suffering to end their life, especially old people who feel their life is finished. The drug was never developed. the proposal however indirectly started up the discussion of euthanasia in Netherlands. Hoge Raad der Nederlanden is the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, situated in The Hague. ...
References - ^ discussion of euthanasia on the site of the Dutch ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports
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