Assisted Dying in The Netherlands
The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize assisted dying and remains the global reference point for a fully integrated, medicalised end of life framework.
- Where the law stands
- Legal
- Since
- 2002
- Who can ask
- Adults; minors from 12
- Condition
- Unbearable Suffering
- Residency
- None in law; rare in practice
What you need to know.
-
Legal Status: Legal
The practice is governed by the Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide (Review Procedures) Act (2002).
-
Key Legislation
The Euthanasia Act (2002)
Children under 12 fall outside the Act: infants are covered by the Groningen Protocol (2005) and children aged 1 to 12 by a 2024 regulation, each with its own review route.
-
Eligibility
Access is available to adults and minors from 12 (with age-based rules) who suffer unbearably with no prospect of improvement. The Act sets no residency condition, but the doctor must know the patient well enough to judge the request, so requests from abroad almost never succeed.
Summary
As the pioneer of assisted dying, the Netherlands has the most mature and extensively studied system in the world. Since 2002, medical assisted and voluntary assisted dying have been decriminalised, provided they are performed by a physician who adheres to strict “due care” criteria.
Unlike the “voluntary assisted dying only” models found in the US or Switzerland, the Dutch model is predominantly medical administration, which accounts for over 96% of cases. The system is unique in its breadth: it allows for advance directives (for dementia), covers psychiatric suffering (under very strict scrutiny). Since 2024 a separate regulation, outside the Act, also allows doctors to end the life of terminally ill children aged 1 to 12 at their parents’ request.
Quick Overview
In the Netherlands medical assisted and voluntary assisted dying are criminal offences under articles 293 and 294 of the Dutch Criminal Code. The only exception is when the procedure is performed by a doctor who has satisfied six statutory due care criteria. These criteria are laid down in the Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide (Review Procedures) Act. The doctor is also required to notify the municipal pathologist.
The Dutch system operates on a “trust but verify” basis. Doctors are not required to get prior approval from a committee (unlike in Spain). Instead, they perform the procedure and report it afterward to one of the five Regional Euthanasia Review Committees (RTE).
The RTE reviews every case to ensure the six “due care criteria” were met. If the criteria were followed, the doctor is immune from prosecution. In 2024, the RTE reviewed nearly 10,000 cases, finding that doctors acted with due care in almost all instances. The system is deeply integrated into the General Practitioner (GP) network, with GPs performing the majority of procedures in the patient’s home.
Visit De Einder (World Federation Member) for more info
Visit Nederlandse Vereniging voor een Vrijwillig Levenseinde (World Federation Member) for more info
Visit Stichting de Vredige Pil (World Federation Member) for more info
History and Legislation
The Netherlands did not legalize assisted dying overnight; it was the result of 30 years of judicial transparency.
-
1973
The “Postma Case”
The debate began when Dr. Truus Postma was prosecuted for ending her mother’s life. The court gave her a symbolic sentence, establishing that a doctor’s duty to relieve suffering could, in extreme cases, override the duty to preserve life.
-
2020
Dementia
The Supreme Court confirmed that a written advance directive is valid for patients with advanced dementia who can no longer communicate.
-
2024
Children 1-12
In February 2024 the government brought in a regulation allowing doctors to end the life of a terminally ill child aged 1 to 12 who is suffering unbearably with no prospect of improvement. It sits outside the 2002 Act: the request comes from the parents rather than the child, and cases go to a separate review committee. It closed the gap between the Groningen Protocol (infants under 1) and the Act (from age 12).
Who is Eligible?
The Dutch law is broad but rigorous. Eligibility requires:
- Residency: The Act does not prohibit a request from someone living abroad, but the due-care criteria require the doctor to be satisfied that the suffering is unbearable and hopeless, which normally needs a long doctor–patient relationship. In practice such requests almost never succeed, and some providers, including the Euthanasia Expertise Centre, only take people with a Dutch address.
- Adults: Full access.
- Minors: From age 12, under the same due-care criteria as adults. Aged 12 to 15, the parents or guardian must consent; aged 16 or 17, they must be consulted but their consent is not required.
- Condition:
- Unbearable Suffering: The suffering must be “unbearable and with no prospect of improvement.” It can be physical or psychological (psychiatric cases require a second opinion from a specialist).
- No Reasonable Alternative: The patient and doctor must agree there is no other reasonable solution.
- Age Groups:
- Adults (18+): Full access.
- Minors (16–17): Full access; parents must be consulted but cannot veto.
- Minors (12–15): Allowed with parental consent.
- Children (1–12): Outside the Act. Since 2024 a separate regulation allows termination of life for a terminally ill child with unbearable, hopeless suffering, at the parents’ request.
- Infants (under 1): Outside the Act; covered by the Groningen Protocol.
- Advance Directives: A written request is legally valid if the patient becomes incompetent (e.g., dementia), though doctors often exercise extreme caution in these cases.
Our Dutch Members
Member societies of the World Federation working for the right to die in the Netherlands.
More country profiles
- Austria Legal
- Belgium Legal
- France Legal
- Germany Legal (Ruling)
- Ireland Illegal (no active bill)
- Italy Decriminalised (Court Ruling)
- Norway Illegal
- Portugal Legal (In Limbo)
- Spain Legal
- Switzerland Decriminalized
- United Kingdom Illegal (no active bill)
- Australia Legal
- Canada Legal (Federal)
- Colombia Decriminalized
- Cuba Decriminalised (regulations pending)
- Ecuador Decriminalized
- New Zealand Legal
- United States Legal (State Level)
- Uruguay Legal