Dutch parliament to debate citizen initiative that would remove all medical requirements for euthanasia, allowing anyone to end life without diagnosis or doctor.
Newsroom (05/12/2025 Gaudium Press ) A citizen-backed proposal that would strip away every remaining legal safeguard on euthanasia is now formally headed to the Dutch parliament after an activist group collected more than 75,000 valid signatures, far exceeding the 40,000-signature threshold required to force consideration under the country’s citizens’ initiative procedure.
The bill, titled the End-of-Life Management Act and drafted by Stichting Levenseinderegie (Foundation for End-of-Life Management), would abolish the core requirements that have governed euthanasia since its legalisation in 2002. Under the existing Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide (Review Procedures) Act, a patient must have a medically confirmed condition causing “unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement” and the procedure must be carried out or directly supervised by a physician.
The new initiative proposes to eliminate both the medical diagnosis requirement and mandatory physician involvement. Key provisions include:
- Individuals may decide unilaterally when to request euthanasia, even post-mortem in certain contexts.
- The act of euthanasia may be performed by the person themselves or by a “volunteer doctor” with unspecified “required medical attention.”
- Patients undergoing terminal palliative sedation may opt for euthanasia regardless of whether they previously filed an advance directive.
The organization behind the petition cites an internal survey claiming 71 per cent of respondents support a law in which “people decide for themselves if and when euthanasia and assisted suicide should be applied.”
Official statistics underscore the rapid expansion of euthanasia in the Netherlands. Regional review committees reported 9,958 euthanasia deaths in 2024, equivalent to 5.8 per cent of all deaths nationwide, up from roughly 2 per cent when the practice was first legalised. Alex Schadenberg, international chair of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, highlighted additional trends in a recent statement: “Deaths by euthanasia have been steadily increasing, while oversight of the law has been steadily declining.” He pointed to rising cases based solely on psychological suffering and a growing number of euthanasia deaths among younger people.
A 2021 government review had already documented 9,799 assisted deaths, including 517 cases in which life was ended without explicit patient request.
Internationally, the Netherlands remains among the most permissive jurisdictions. Dutch law currently permits physician-administered euthanasia for children from the age of one, including newborns judged to be suffering unbearably with no prospect of improvement. Only Quebec records more requests per capita, while Canada registered approximately 15,000 Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) deaths in 2023 – a 16 per cent increase that made MAID the fifth leading cause of death nationwide.
Critics argue the new citizens’ initiative confirms long-standing “slippery slope” warnings. Where euthanasia was originally framed as a tightly regulated exception for terminal illness, the proposal would effectively legalise assisted suicide on demand for any reason or none. The progressive D66 party has signalled it will table the measure in parliament next year, potentially accelerating the removal of remaining restrictions under the banner of personal autonomy.
Parliament has not yet set a date for debate or vote on the End-of-Life Management Act.
- Raju Hasmukh with files form Infocatholica
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