Euthanasia deaths rise in Holland

London: Euthanasia cases in Holland have increased by 13 per cent in the last year, according to new figures.

Last year, a total of 2,636 Dutch people were killed by euthanasia, with 80 per cent of cases involving people dying at home after their doctors administered a lethal dose of drugs.

This compares with 2,331 reported deaths in 2008.

In 2003, the year after Holland became the first country since the fall of Nazi Germany to legalise the practice, there were 1,815 cases.

Euthanasia is usually carried out by administering a sedative, followed by a drug to cause death.

To qualify, patients must be in unbearable pain and their doctor convinced they are making an informed choice. The opinion of a second doctor is also required.

Jan Suyver, the chairman of the Dutch government's euthanasia monitoring commission, said the rising number of cases came as the "taboo" once attached to euthanasia began to fade.

"It could also be that doctors are more likely to report it," he said.

But anti-euthanasia groups said that the sharp increase was probably linked to the collapse of the palliative care system in the Netherlands.