Couples who decide to end their lives with euthanasia scheduled for the same day and time represent a small percentage of the total assisted deaths in the Netherlands,
but their number is increasing
and there are dozens a year, including that of former Dutch Prime Minister Dries van Agt and his wife, both 93 years old.
Van Agt had been with his wife Eugenie for 70 years
, whom he met during his time as students in Nijmegen, in the east of the Netherlands, and since then they were inseparable: she accompanied and advised him during his time as Minister of Justice (1971- 1977), Foreign Minister (1982) and as prime minister of three cabinets between 1977 and 1982.
He was also at his side when he founded
The Rights Forum
, a knowledge center on Israel and Palestine, in 2009, where he tried to materialize his search for a peaceful solution to the conflict, something to which he dedicated his energy since visiting the West Bank in 1999. Together they
traveled around the world
for work, and
they were inseparable
for decades, which is why they were also clear that they did not want to live without each other.
On February 5, both of them at 93 years old,
in a deteriorating state of health
, and surrounded by their loved ones,
died "hand in hand" after undergoing euthanasia together,
something increasingly common in the Netherlands, according to Fransien van ter Beek, president of the Dutch Association for a Voluntary End of Life (NVVE).
Protesters from the pro-life group Derecho a Vivir stand outside the Spanish parliament in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. Spain's new parliament is expected to accept in its first legislative session a majority vote the debate on a law that decriminalizes and regulates euthanasia.
(AP Photo/Paul White)
In 2022, the last year for which official figures are available,
there were almost 9,000 euthanasias in the Netherlands
, including 29 couples who underwent an assisted dying process, that is, 58 people in total.
In 2021 there were 16 couples, and in 2020 another 13. The percentage is small, but increasing, according to data from the Regional Euthanasia Review Committees (RTE).
"It is not an easy road"
"It doesn't happen very often, because
it's not an easy path
," Van ter Beek told NOS.
Doctors
study a couple's request
as two individual processes and are subject to the conditions of any other case.
Euthanasia
has been legal in the Netherlands
since 2002, but
it is authorized under very strict conditions
and can only be carried out under medical supervision, so any other form of assisting suicide is considered illegal.
Euthanasia has been legal in the Netherlands since 2002. Photo: AFP
The requirements require that the decision be "voluntary and well thought out", in the face of "unbearable and desperate suffering", and that "there be no reasonable alternative".
In addition, the doctor must "report the situation and prospects", and that a second opinion be requested from "an independent doctor", so that the process "is medically careful",
with the correct drugs and the appropriate steps.
Two different doctors perform a separate evaluation
, after which another independent doctor re-examines her, and all doctors must be sure that all points are met before authorizing euthanasia.
In the case of couples, it must also be verified that
there is no "undue pressure" from one of the parties.
Van Agt suffered a brain hemorrhage in 2019 and his health has deteriorated since then.
"That was when he said that euthanasia was an option if life and suffering became unbearable (...) His health became increasingly fragile and he wanted to focus his attention on his wife, his children and his grandchildren," added Gerard Jonkman, director of The Rights Forum, who confirmed that Eugenie's health had also deteriorated rapidly in recent years.
The former prime minister entered politics in the late sixties and was a member of the Christian Democratic party CDA until 2021. He was a
conservative of Catholic beliefs
, but his vision became more progressive over the years, enough to surprise him by dying after euthanasia and with the love of his life.
"They couldn't live without each other," Jonkman said.
"We know from experience that people think it's a nice idea. Especially after a lifetime in which people have merged with each other. This way you no longer have to live through the death of the other person, and you save yourself the pain" , concludes Van ter Beek.
However,
it is the children and grandchildren who suffer a double loss
when their parents or grandparents die together.
At the moment, "duo-euthanasias" remain an exception and represent less than 1% of total cases in the Netherlands.