By . Simon Caldwell For The Daily Mail . A Dutch euthanasia doctor killed a woman in her 80s because she did not want to live in a nursing home. The death has prompted regulators to refer the case to prosecutors for the first time since euthanasia was legalised in the Netherlands 12 years ago. The unidentified woman died by lethal injection in the Levenseindekliniek – or Life End Clinic – after she complained she did not want to spend the rest of her life in a care home. The doctor administered a lethal injection to the woman in 80s who had complained she did not want to spend the rest of her life in a care home after she was partially paralysed by a stroke (picture posed by models) A doctor concluded the unhappiness of the woman, who had been partially paralysed by a stroke, constituted ‘unbearable suffering’ – the legal requirement for euthanasia. But the regional review committee, which polices euthanasia, found the doctor was negligent and referred the case to the Public Prosecution Service, which will decide whether a crime has been committed. It comes months after Professor Theo Boer, a member of a review committee, warned UK politicians not to legalise assisted suicide because the Dutch experiment had been a disaster. The Life End Clinic was established in the Hague in 2012 to provide euthanasia to patients whose family doctors object to it. It has helped about 250 patients to die in the past two years and also has mobile doctors to administer lethal drugs in people’s homes. According to the Dutch newspaper Trouw, regulators acted after the doctor who killed the woman based the decision to end her life ‘solely on the fact that the patient was in a nursing home’. The Life End Clinic was established in the Hague in 2012 to provide euthanasia to patients . Twenty years earlier the woman had put in writing her desire not to live in a such a home if she became incapacitated. She expressed this wish verbally to her doctor 18 months ago and soon afterwards was left unable to communicate properly by a stroke. A family member contacted the euthanasia clinic when he formed the impression that the woman had begun to complain. An independent doctor who visited her reported that she said only two words – ‘kan niet [can not]’ – and that she held her head in her hands. According to a report by the regulators, this was regarded by the doctor as sufficient evidence of ‘despair and unhappiness’ to constitute unbearable suffering. But nursing home staff reported that the elderly woman was very often content, friendly and quiet. The case represents the second time in four months that regulators have criticised the clinic. In April officials said a doctor had not conducted sufficient interviews with a woman with psychiatric problems before helping her to die. A week before peers debated proposals by Lord Falconer to legalise assisted suicide in the UK, Professor Boer – who has reviewed around 4,000 lethal injection deaths – warned: ‘Don’t go there.’ Once an advocate of euthanasia, he said he now thought the Dutch were ‘terribly wrong’ to think they could control it. The professor said his country had seen an ‘explosive increase’ in euthanasia deaths since 2007 and he expected the number to hit a record 6,000 this year. He was also gravely concerned at the extension of killing to new groups, including the depressed. Campaigners Dignity in Dying said the Assisted Dying Bill, due to reach the committee stage in the Lords in November, is based on a model that ‘has never been extended beyond the criteria of terminal illness’. But Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson said the killing of the care home resident showed safeguards ‘do not work’. Lord Carlile of Berriew, who investigated euthanasia for a parliamentary inquiry, said: ‘The Dutch experiment shows that [the law] will be abused, that policing such abuse is extremely difficult and, of course, it is always too late.’
Unidentified woman died by lethal injection at the Life End Clinic after stroke .
Doctor concluded unhappiness of woman constituted 'unbearable suffering'
Regional review committee found doctor was negligent and case referred .
Life End Clinic established in Hague in 2012 to provide euthanasia to patients .
Has helped 250 patients to die in the past two years and has mobile doctors .
UK politicians warned not to legalise assisted suicide after Dutch experiment .
By . Simon Caldwell For The Daily Mail . A Dutch euthanasia doctor killed a woman in her 80s because she did not want to live in a nursing home. The death has prompted regulators to refer the case to prosecutors for the first time since euthanasia was legalised in the Netherlands 12 years ago. The unidentified woman died by lethal injection in the Levenseindekliniek – or Life End Clinic – after she complained she did not want to spend the rest of her life in a care home. The doctor administered a lethal injection to the woman in 80s who had complained she did not want to spend the rest of her life in a care home after she was partially paralysed by a stroke (picture posed by models) A doctor concluded the unhappiness of the woman, who had been partially paralysed by a stroke, constituted ‘unbearable suffering’ – the legal requirement for euthanasia. But the regional review committee, which polices euthanasia, found the doctor was negligent and referred the case to the Public Prosecution Service, which will decide whether a crime has been committed. It comes months after Professor Theo Boer, a member of a review committee, warned UK politicians not to legalise assisted suicide because the Dutch experiment had been a disaster. The Life End Clinic was established in the Hague in 2012 to provide euthanasia to patients whose family doctors object to it. It has helped about 250 patients to die in the past two years and also has mobile doctors to administer lethal drugs in people’s homes. According to the Dutch newspaper Trouw, regulators acted after the doctor who killed the woman based the decision to end her life ‘solely on the fact that the patient was in a nursing home’. The Life End Clinic was established in the Hague in 2012 to provide euthanasia to patients . Twenty years earlier the woman had put in writing her desire not to live in a such a home if she became incapacitated. She expressed this wish verbally to her doctor 18 months ago and soon afterwards was left unable to communicate properly by a stroke. A family member contacted the euthanasia clinic when he formed the impression that the woman had begun to complain. An independent doctor who visited her reported that she said only two words – ‘kan niet [can not]’ – and that she held her head in her hands. According to a report by the regulators, this was regarded by the doctor as sufficient evidence of ‘despair and unhappiness’ to constitute unbearable suffering. But nursing home staff reported that the elderly woman was very often content, friendly and quiet. The case represents the second time in four months that regulators have criticised the clinic. In April officials said a doctor had not conducted sufficient interviews with a woman with psychiatric problems before helping her to die. A week before peers debated proposals by Lord Falconer to legalise assisted suicide in the UK, Professor Boer – who has reviewed around 4,000 lethal injection deaths – warned: ‘Don’t go there.’ Once an advocate of euthanasia, he said he now thought the Dutch were ‘terribly wrong’ to think they could control it. The professor said his country had seen an ‘explosive increase’ in euthanasia deaths since 2007 and he expected the number to hit a record 6,000 this year. He was also gravely concerned at the extension of killing to new groups, including the depressed. Campaigners Dignity in Dying said the Assisted Dying Bill, due to reach the committee stage in the Lords in November, is based on a model that ‘has never been extended beyond the criteria of terminal illness’. But Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson said the killing of the care home resident showed safeguards ‘do not work’. Lord Carlile of Berriew, who investigated euthanasia for a parliamentary inquiry, said: ‘The Dutch experiment shows that [the law] will be abused, that policing such abuse is extremely difficult and, of course, it is always too late.’
years ago. The unidentified woman died by lethal doctor administered a lethal injection to the paralysed by a stroke, constituted ‘unbearable negligent and referred the case to the Public committee, warned UK politicians not to legalise assisted suicide because the Dutch experiment had die in the past two years and also has mobile home’. The Life End Clinic was established in the Hague in 2012 to provide euthanasia to patients .