58 people in Luxembourg in the last two years ended their lives through euthanasia, a report by the health commission concluded.
As of 2023, the Grand Duchy is one of just four countries in Europe where active voluntary euthanasia is legal (the others are Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain). When the Chamber of Deputies legalised euthanasia in 2009, Luxembourg became the third country in the world to do so.
Every two years the numbers on euthanasia in the Grand Duchy are made public. On Tuesday they were presented by president of the health commission Jean-Claude Wiwinius.
In the years 2019 and 2020, 41 people in this country resorted to euthanasia. In the vast majority of cases, it was people who had terminal cancer.
Since its legalisation, there is more interest in assisted suicide, Wiwinius said. People are much better informed and the subject has less of a taboo attached to it compared to when it was introduced. As a result, people's fears would also have decreased.
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In its report, however, the control commission states that even more could be done in terms of information and that doctors should also be offered special training on the subject of euthanasia.
In addition, the commission regretted that even after 10 years and after many requests, the CNS still had not set up a specific tariff to charge for the care of euthanasia or assisted suicide.
