Newspaper Media
June 6, 2025
Euthanasia Advocate Dies in Germany
Dr. Florian Willet had been under investigation in Switzerland after being present when an American woman died using a so-called suicide pod. Florian Willet, a euthanasia advocate who was detained by Swiss authorities last year after being present when an American woman ended her life using a chamber-like device, has died. Mr. Willet’s death was […]
May 3, 2025
What would you do? Mothers & Dementia
Each week, hundreds of newspapers around the world publish reader feedback on a range of questions. Last week the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant asked ‘what would you do’ about your mother and dementia. This is what the readers said … My mother (over 80, highly educated) sometimes communicates in such a way that her children […]
March 30, 2025
Swiss clinic helps UK woman die without her family’s knowledge
Swiss clinic helps UK woman die without her family’s knowledge An assisted dying clinic in Switzerland has helped a British woman to end her life without informing her family, despite reportedly claiming to have changed its practices after a similar incident in 2023. Anne Canning, 51, from Wales, travelled to the Pegasos clinic near the […]
March 25, 2025
Euthanasia Trends Upwards in the Netherlands
Last year, a total of 9,958 euthanasia cases were registered with the review committees reports Eva Klute for de Volkskrant. This increase can be partially explained by the ageing population, but the number of euthanasia notifications also rose in relation to the total mortality rate: from 5.4 to 5.8 percent. There is no reason to […]
March 21, 2025
Belgian Euthanasia Deaths Rise 17% in Past Year
Number of people choosing euthanasia has risen again: ‘The ageing population may play a role’ writes Arthur De Meyer. The number of people choosing euthanasia has risen again in the past year. In 2024, it involved 3,991 people, which is an increase of almost 17 percent. Experts do not know exactly what is causing the […]
January 26, 2025
Till death do us part: more people opt for Duo Euthanasia
The number of elderly people who want to die at the same time as their loved one is growing. ‘Duo euthanasia’ is seen by some as the height of romance, but is not always manageable. ‘On the day of the euthanasia, they went for coffee and cake first’ report Gertien Koster and Jos Schuring in […]
January 10, 2025
Willet spent 10 weeks in custody … “Hard to understand” say Lawyers
A Sarco man spent ten weeks in custody on suspicion of strangulation. “Hard to understand”, say lawyers The Schaffhausen public prosecutor’s office is investigating the first death in the death capsule. Research shows that they are taking an unusually tough approach – and are sticking to a dubious theory. Brief overview: • On 23. September […]
January 8, 2025
Why do we find it so difficult to talk about voluntary death in the Netherlands?
Opinion by Melvin Keijzer Even in a progressive city like Amsterdam, talking about death is a taboo, argues Melvin Keijzer – and about voluntary dying altogether. He argues for an open debate on self-determination. ‘Only that can reveal where the limits of autonomy should lie.’ Recently, a woman (64) in Switzerland ended her life in […]
December 29, 2024
Never before has there been so much public focus on self-determination
Suicide capsule ‘Sarco’, Middel X – ‘Never before has there been so much public focus on self-determination around death as now’ Jos van Wijk never minced words: one’s own dying, the 70-year-old believes, is a private matter. No one else needs to interfere with that. Van Wijk made his conviction his work; until 2023, he […]
December 21, 2024
Thing of 2024 – No one held her hand tight
The capsule is built from glossy panels and Plexiglas. You lie in it, tilted back like the pilot of a glider. It looks like a bobsled. Or the aerodynamic sidecar of a motorbike. In the Haarlem workshop where Philip Nitschke (77), an Australian doctor, worked for years on the prototype of the Sarco, there is […]
