Thu Apr 6, 2023 – 4:03 pm EDTThu Apr 6, 2023 – 4:43 pm EDT
(LifeSiteNews) — In 2022, the Netherlands experienced an unprecedented increase in the number of recorded euthanasia cases. At the same time, the share of euthanasia and assisted suicide in the total number of deaths increased.
The aging of the population alone is not enough to account for what must be called a craze for “chosen death.” In total, 8,720 requests for euthanasia were honored, compared with 7,776 the previous year. This represents an increase of over 13 percent.
The percentage of deaths by euthanasia rose from 4.6% in 2021 to 5.1% in 2022. This means that one in 20 deaths was caused by a lethal injection. Although this is not quite a “new normal” in Dutch society, it is at least a sign of “normalization.” Euthanasia is no longer seen as a rare exception.
Euthanasia has been legal in the Netherlands since the Dutch end-of-life law came into force in 2002. Until 2007, the number of annual euthanasia cases did not exceed 2,000. In 2016, it exceeded 6,000 cases for the first time. However, the percentage of total deaths did not
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