The Dutch Council of State has rejected a draft “death wish” assisted suicide bill that seeks to extend existing legislation to over-75s who are “tired of life”. The Council of State, the highest-ranking advisory body in the Netherlands, previously released a report on the bill, explaining that the “government has a duty to protect its citizens against involuntary, hasty or ill-informed decisions about ending their lives and to prevent abuse”. “In 2020, 53% of people killed by assisted suicide in the US state of Oregon said that they feared “being a burden on family, friends/caregivers” if they continued to live. In Scotland, too, 36% of over-50s recently reported they were seen as a “burden” by others, as reported by SPUC.
