The Euthanasia Review Commission’s annual report said the number of registered euthanasia cases fell to 1,922, from 1,933 a year earlier, or 1.4 percent of all deaths.
The commission’s conclusions were in line with a government study published last month finding terminal sedations had risen from 6 percent of all deaths in 2001 to 7 percent in 2005, while euthanasia cases – including the estimated 20 percent that go unreported – fell from 2.5 percent to 1.7 percent.
Data on terminal sedation and euthanasia are hard to find for other Western nations. ”The increased interest for palliative sedation doesn’t mean that the demand for euthanasia will disappear,” the commission’s report said.
