Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide Global Timeline

As of 2024, euthanasia or assisted suicide is legal in 11 states and territories: Washington, Oregon, Montana, California, Vermont, Colorado, Maine, Hawaii, New Jersey, New Mexico, and D.C.

It is legal in 14 countries: The United States (above states only), Canda, Australia, Belgium, Colombia, Ecuador, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and Portugal.

Of the countries that have legalized euthanasia or assisted suicide, nearly all have seen safety measures erode with time. All have faced constant pressure from pro-euthanasia groups to expand the parameters of legalized death.

Among the most egregious examples are:

• Belgium.
  • In 2002 euthanasia was legalized with the passage of the “Euthanasia Act.” The law allowed adults that are experiencing “unbearable physical or psychological suffering” to be euthanized. Calls immediately began to expand the criteria to include those with conditions like Dementia. Only 12 years after the first law was passed, the legislation was amended in 2014 to allow euthanasia without an age requirement allowing the euthanasia of children jettisoning the initial protections.

• Switzerland.
  • Assisted suicide was legalized in 1942 with no age restrictions and no citizenship requirement. In 2006 a ruling by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court ruled that those with severe mental illnesses could be eligible. The influx of death tourism was so significant that in 2009 attempts were made to limit it to only citizens, though efforts failed. In 2014 it was decided that elderly people could be eligible without the need for any severe illness. A desire to die is all they need.

• Netherlands.
  • In 1984 the Dutch Supreme Court issued a ruling that allowed legal euthanasia under very strict circumstances, the practice remained generally illegal.
    • Allowed only if the patient made a clear, explicit, and persistent request for euthanasia.
    • The request had to be well-considered, free from external pressure, and made repeatedly over time.
    • The patient must be experiencing suffering that is unbearable and cannot be alleviated by any means.
    • This suffering could be physical or psychological, but it needed to be deemed hopeless by medical standards.
    • In most cases, a second doctor’s opinion was required to confirm that the criteria for euthanasia were met.
    • Physicians were expected to document the case thoroughly and report the procedure to legal authorities for review.
  • In 2001 the Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide Act was passed, making euthanasia officially legal. In 2004 protocol was introduced to allow euthanasia specifically for infants. In 2016 proposals were made to allow elderly people who feel they have “completed their life” yet have no ailment to be eligible, though this effort has not yet been successful. In 2023 euthanasia rules were changed and it was made legal for children with terminal illnesses.

• Canada.
  • Suicide was decriminalized in 1972. In 2016 c-14 was passed and “Medical Aid in Dying”
    aka assisted suicide was made legal across the country. In 2020 federal legislation was introduced, Bill c-7, to remove the “reasonably foreseeable death” requirement which expanded access to people with disabilities or chronic illness even if they are not terminally ill. Recent reports by the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying suggest children whose deaths are “reasonably foreseeable” should be eligible and have the final say rather than their parents. Pressure from pro-assisted suicide advocates continues to push for the expansion of MAID to include advance directives which would allow someone to request their own death in the future should they get a condition like Dementia.

Assisted suicide and euthanasia are dishonestly presented as a loving or compassionate option that should be available to those who are terminally ill. The truth is that it never stops there. Groups like “Death with Dignity” continue to push for expanded access. Like a ball that is rolled down a hill, once euthanasia starts moving it proves hard to stop.