Belgian euthanasia figures continue to rise
Nearly 2,700 people were euthanised in Belgium in 2021, according to the official figures from the euthanasia commission – an increase of 10% over the...
First figures about New Zealand euthanasia
At least 32 people have taken up New Zealand’s euthanasia services since it became legal on November 7 last year, according to the Ministry of...
In Europe, suicides rise after ‘right-to-die’ is legalised, says bioethicist
Right-to-die campaigners often claim that legalising assisted suicide and euthanasia will result in a fall in the number of suicides. UK bioethicist David Albert Jones...
Italian euthanasia referendum sunk by Constitutional Court
The Italian Constitutional Court blocked a proposal for a national referendum on the right to die this week. The leading lobby group, Associazione Luca...
7 Spaniards who were euthanised last year donated their organs
Well, well, well, that didn’t take long, did it? Spain legalised euthanasia on June 25 last year and already transplant surgeons are using organs from...
Dutch doctors given thumbs-up for euthanasia for dementia patients
The Royal Dutch Medical Association (KNMG) has released guidelines for the euthanasia of patients with dementia who have made a written advance directive. It will...
Quebec moving toward euthanasia for dementia patients
A government commission in Quebec has recommended the use of advance directives in euthanasia. In a report released this week, the committee says that "a...
Quebec anaesthetist fighting euthanasia allegations
Police blotter. Here is a case from Quebec which suggests two things. First, that Canada’s medical aid in dying legislation does not mean that doctors...
Euthanasia takes a backward step in Portugal and Colombia
The president of Portugal has refused to sign a bill legalising euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa criticised its wording as imprecise. This...
Belgian euthanasia doctors intimidated by lawyers
Euthanasia has become normalised in Belgium. Accounting to official figures, about 1 death in 50 is due to euthanasia – and a large proportion are...
Euthanasia updates: Bailiwick of Jersey and New South Wales
Lawmakers on the island of Jersey, the small UK dependency in the English Channel (population 110,000), have approved the principle of legalising assisted dying. A...
‘The Economist’ backs assisted dying
As a reflection of the influence of classical liberal thought upon current affairs, the British “newspaper”, The Economist, has no peer. Its tightly written leaders...