Granted, Undecided, Withdrawn, and Refused Requests for Euthanasia and Physician-assisted Suicide

All general practitioners in 18 of the 23 Dutch general practitioner districts received a written questionnaire in which they were asked to describe the most recent request they had received for euthanasia or assisted suicide. A total of 3614 responses were received. Of all explicit requests, 44% resulted in euthanasia or assisted suicide. The decisions physicians make, their reasons for their decisions, & the way the arrived at these seem to be based on patient evaluations. Physicians report compliance with the official requirements for accepted practice. (23 refs.)