The number of reported cases of euthanasia in 2018 has fallen for the first time since the practice was formalised in 2002. There were 4,600 cases of euthanasia in the Netherlands in the first nine months of this year, a drop of 9% on the same period in 2017. A number of possible causes thta are mentioned are: the flu epidemic in the beginning of 2018 and/or doctors becoming more wary because of the announced (4) prosecution examinations.
It is too early to analyse this decrease yet.
