Dutch with a death wish: Around 10,000 over-55s in the Netherlands have a serious desire to die, government research finds
by Ryan Fahey For Mailonline- Dutch Christian Democrat MP Hugo de Jonge revealed the report yesterday
- It comes as opposition MPs announce a new euthanasia bill for over 75s
- MP Carla Dik-Faber said using the research to produce a 'euthanasia pill' would be the 'most cynical response to people with a death wish'
Around 10,000 over 55s in the Netherlands have a death wish, new research has revealed.
Yesterday, Health Minister and Christian Democrat MP Hugo de Jonge, told the Dutch House of Representatives that 0.18 per cent of the population over the age of 55 have a serious desire to die.
'0.18% of Dutch people aged 55 and over have one has persistent and active death wish, which they consider best described can be like a wish to end life without being seriously ill,' the report, compiled by the Van Wijngaarden commission, reads.
'This amounts to approximately 10,156 people.'
De Jonge added that there was 'no doubt' the results indicate a 'major social issue for the government and society.'
'This group of people’s death wish is serious and the report underlines the need for action,' he added.
De Jonge suggested the government needs to 'help these people find meaning in life again.
The research is likely to split opinions between parties in the coalition government.
Pia Dijkstra, a rival MP for the D66 party, announced today that she would table a bill to allow those over 75 to request euthanasia so 'people [can] manage a dignified end to their own lives'.
The Netherlands was the first country to decriminalise the practice in a 2001 law and a steady increase in people terminating their own lives has been recorded ever since.
Carla Dik-Faber, a member of De Jonge's party, claimed that using the research to produce a 'euthanasia pill' would be the 'most cynical response to people with a death wish.'
'We would be giving up on them instead of wanting to be there for them,' she added.
In August, a Dutch doctor was put on trial in a landmark case after euthanising a patient with severe dementia who may have had second thoughts about dying.
The doctor, now aged 68 and retired, is alleged to have put a sleeping drug into the elderly woman's coffee.
In neighbouring Belgium, three doctors accused of unlawfully killing a patient with mental health problems were cleared yesterday in a landmark euthanasia case.
The two doctors and a psychiatrist were charged after 38-year-old Tine Nys was given a lethal injection in 2010 after saying she wanted to end her life due to her severe mental anguish.
Euthanasia has been legal in Belgium since 2002 but Ms Nys's family objected to the mercy killing claiming her condition did not lie within the strict guidelines of those allowed to voluntarily end their lives.
In order to qualify for euthanasia in the Netherlands, the patient must be at least 16-years-old and their decision must be 'voluntary and well considered'.
The suffering must show no prospect of improvement and be 'considered unbearable'.
They must be aware of all options and informed about the condition and be sure there's no other reasonable alternative.
Lastly, there must be consultation with at least one other independent doctor who needs to provide written confirmation.