Why the Netherlands?

Abstract

During the summer of 1999, twenty-eight interviews with some of the leading authorities on the euthanasia policy were conducted in the Netherlands. They were asked: Why the Netherlands? What are the reasons that prompted the Dutch to adopt their policy? This study first provides some background information on the practice of euthanasia and the legal framework and then reports the interviews' answers on the question: Why the Netherlands? Multiple reasons were mentioned: historical, social, cultural, religious and political as well as the pivotal importance of the local healthcare system. A complex combination of factors brought the Netherlands to adopt a very tolerant attitude regarding euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.

Keywords: euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, The Netherlands