In the first case that has gone to trial since the implementation of the Dutch Euthanasia law, the law court concluded that all requirements of the euthanasia legislation had been met. Therefore the suspect was dismissed of all legal proceedings.
Prosecutors had accused the doctor of failing to ask for an oral confirmation of the written request to the 74-year-old, who had Alzheimer’s, but the court ruled that such a verification duty does not flow from the law and is also for other reasons not necessary or even useful. The court’s verdict can be seen as an important test of the Netherlands’ pioneering euthanasia laws. See for details of the case our item in November 2018.