Last year the number of euthanasia cases registered went up by ten percent compared to 2007. Regional euthanasia vetting committees report that 2,300 cases were reported. They are expecting a further increase in the current year.

According to the committees the rise is due to a new law on euthanasia which was introduced in 2002, which made a clearer distinction between several kinds of treatment. The difference between palliative sedation - administering pain killers but not actively bringing about the death of the patient - and actual euthanasia has been made clearer. It is thought that the more strict definitions cause doctors to report euthanasia more often, instead of reporting the use of palliative sedation.

In addition the doctors' preparedness to report euthanasia may have increased because the new law clearly describes the medication that is allowed in the process, the committees think.

Euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands under strict conditions, which include: the patient should have requested it, the doctor has to be convinced that the patient's suffering is hopeless and unbearable, and the doctor has to consult at least one other doctor.

The doctor has to report his activities to a euthanasia vetting committee in his region, which determines whether the doctor acted according to the law. The committee members are always a lawyer, a doctor and an ethicist.