Dutch assisted deaths rising significantly, committee to hear

Dutch professor will tell Oireachtas committee the legalising of assisted dying in the Netherlands has 'turned the whole landscape of dying, including our view of illness, suffering, ageing, and care-dependence upside down'. File picture: Lynne Cameron/PA Wire

The number of people availing of assisted dying in the Netherlands is rising “significantly” year after year, an Oireachtas committee on assisted dying will hear on Tuesday.

Professor of healthcare ethics Theo Boer will tell the Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying that the numbers have quadrupled in the past 20 years, with assisted deaths accounting for up to 20% of all deaths in some neighbourhoods. However, the national average remains at 5.2%.