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THE HAGUE — The Netherlands does not have to widen its euthanasia laws by legalizing assisting suicide for everyone, not just for doctors, Dutch judges ruled on Wednesday after a challenge from a right-to-die organization.
In their written decision, the judges ruled that the Dutch law strikes a “fair balance between the societal interests of a ban on assisting a suicide – protection of life and preventing abuse of vulnerable persons – and the interests of an individual to have access to physician-assisted suicide in the case of unbearable suffering without the prospect it will get better.”
The case was brought by the right-to-die organization Cooperative Last Will as strategic litigation aimed at getting the Netherlands to widen existing laws.
READ: Dutch right-to-die group fights to widen legal euthanasia boundaries
It had argued that the ban on assisting suicide not overseen by medical professionals violated the right to self-determination and respect for private life enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.
Lawyers for the Dutch state said the euthanasia laws strike a balance between the duty of the state to protect citizens, even from themselves, and individual autonomy.
The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide under strict conditions and when overseen by medical professionals.
Assisting a suicide or providing a means for someone to take their own life outside of the strict criteria is punishable with a jail term of up to three years.
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