Joint euthanasia for couples in the Netherlands is increasingly debated in public. Is the rising number of „duo-euthanasia” cases a sign of the times, or an ethical challenge?
Euthanasia in the Netherlands
The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalise euthanasia, back in 2002. The decision must be voluntary, and the suffering – physical or mental – must be unbearable and without prospect of improvement. Cases of double euthanasia, so-called duo-euthanasia, where a couple decides to die together, have also been recorded.
More and more couples are choosing euthanasia
- In 2023, the Netherlands recorded 33 cases of double euthanasia, and in 2022 – 29. By comparison, in 2019 there were 17 such cases, showing a steady increase.
- It happens that a family doctor refuses to carry out the procedure – in such cases, couples seek help from specialised euthanasia clinics.
- Officially, each person undergoes an independent, strict assessment by two doctors. This is necessary to rule out pressure from a partner and to confirm that the legal criteria are met.
What is the euthanasia procedure for couples?
Key legal requirements
- Each partner must voluntarily and fully consciously submit a separate request for euthanasia.
- Doctors assess each case separately in terms of suffering and the lack of prospects for improvement.
- It is checked whether the decision does not result from a momentary pressure or emotion.
Motivations and dilemmas
Many older couples who have lived together for decades wish to „leave together,” seeing in this an expression of a shared life and love until the end. However, the medical system warns that situations in which both partners suffer equally, at the same moment, are very rare.
Els van Leeningen and Jan Faber
Jan (70) and Els (71) were married for almost their entire lives. They met in kindergarten and were inseparable from then on. They loved being on the move – for years they lived on boats and in a camper, travelling around the Netherlands. Els was a primary school teacher, Jan a sportsman and coach, and later a cargo ship operator. Over the years they shared their life together and raised a son.
However, their health increasingly began to trouble them: Jan, a former hockey player, suffered from chronic back pain, while Els struggled with dementia and serious difficulties in communication.
The couple never wanted their lives to be dictated by illness, nor for their final years to be a stretch of suffering and dependence on others. Together they made the decision on euthanasia when their family doctor refused to carry out the procedure – so they turned to a mobile euthanasia clinic. In the case of couples, doctors must make sure that each partner decides to leave entirely on their own, and that the decision is not the result of the influence of the other person.
Ultimately, Jan and Els received approval for the fatal procedure and died together on 3 June 2024. They said goodbye before death during a final shared dinner.
Joint euthanasia for couples in the Netherlands is legal, but very strictly controlled. The rise in the number of joint euthanasia requests shows changing social attitudes towards death, but also raises questions about the limits of freedom and the responsibility of doctors and the state. Whether joint euthanasia will become one of the regular choices in liberal countries in the future – time will tell.
