The new regulation of voluntary euthanasia and medically assisted suicide in the Netherlands

On 1 April 2002 the Dutch Bill 'Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide (Review Procedures) Act' (Wet toetsing levensbeeindiging op verzoek en hulp bij zelfdoding) came into force. This article starts with an outline of the former legal position in The Netherlands regarding euthanasia and medically assisted suicide, followed by an explanation of the new Act. The main focus of this contribution lays on the requirements of due care, the obligation to notify euthanasia to the coroner and the revised legal position of the so-called Regional Review Commissions. Furthermore, the article considers the termination of life in the case of minors and the function and requirements of written statements of euthanasia by patients no longer capable of communication. Finally, the article gives an overview of the problems [that] may come in the future concerning the approach to euthanasia in The Netherlands.