Euthanasia rates in Netherlands rise, with 60% increase in deaths for mental illness

Statistics recently released in the Netherlands show that euthanasia rates in the country were 10% higher in 2024 over the previous year, including a shocking 60% rise in deaths for psychiatric reasons.

The regional euthanasia review committee (RTE) released the 2024 figures, which show that there were 9,958 euthanasia deaths in 2024, up from 9,068 in 2023. Of those people, 219 died for psychiatric reasons, up from 138 in 2023. It was this number — a 60% increase — that spurred the RTE to urge caution.

“Are we still doing this right?” questioned Jeroen Recourt, RTE’s president. “I welcome social debate on euthanasia due to mental suffering in young people.”

One of the first countries to legalize euthanasia, the Netherlands has long had some of the most relaxed euthanasia laws in the world, allowing state-sanctioned death if a person is “suffering unbearably with no prospect of improvement,” so long as that person has a “medical condition” which could include mental illness or dementia. The nation also allows euthanasia for children.

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Other experts are also urging caution based on the higher rates, especially as 30 of the people who received euthanasia last year were under the age of 30; in 2020, that number was just five.

“Although the recent numbers are still low, there is a recent, enormous increase in requests and euthanasia performed in patients with psychological complaints, especially in young people under 30,” said Damiaan Denys, a professor of psychiatry at Amsterdam University Medical Center.

“This is controversial because it is unclear whether young people at that age can meet the due diligence criteria,” he added. “How can one, at that age, determine with certainty that a young person with a still-developing brain definitely wants to die, that life is experienced as hopeless and without prospects and that all treatments have already been carried out?”

In their report, the RTE mentioned the case of one young man between the ages of 16 and 18 who was euthanatized legally because he had autism, anxiety, and depression. The teen had previously attempted suicide and then decided to seek state-sanctioned death — which he ultimately received.

“The young man described his life as ‘luckless’. He felt very lonely, was deeply unhappy and did not enjoy anything. He could not connect with peers and society, and felt misunderstood,” said the committee. “The doctor was convinced that the young man’s suffering was hopeless. He did not expect current and any future treatments would improve the quality of life. The young man’s death wish was expected to continue, with a high probability that he would make another suicide attempt if his euthanasia wish was not honored.”

Despite these shocking reports, euthanasia proponents were unfazed by the numbers, with one claiming that the country should be “proud.”

“The figures increase slightly each year,” said Fransien van ter Beek, chair of NVVE, the Dutch right-to-die society. “This shows the option of euthanasia is increasingly accepted and used. And just as in other years, the review committees conclude the Netherlands has a very careful euthanasia practice. This is something to be proud of as a country and not to be taken for granted, as many foreign countries show.”