Netherlands Starts First-Ever Judicial Proceedings for Breach of Euthanasia Law

The medical complaints board has already found the doctor guilty of breaching official guidelines in her treatment of a patient, adding that she had "overstepped the line," The Guardian reported.

According to a statement by a public prosecutor in The Hague, the physician gave her patient, a 74-year-old woman suffering from severe dementia, a 'secret' dose of a sedative right before the procedure in order to get the patient's approval.

“After an extensive investigation, the public prosecutor also came to the conclusion that the nursing home doctor had not acted in accordance with legal standards," the prosecutor said.

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Five years before the euthanasia, the patient signed a living will, saying that she wanted to die if she was mentally competent at the time of its execution. However, due to further mental health issues, she was giving conflicting statements on her desire to pass away.

The case against an unnamed Dutch doctor is the first prosecution since 2002 when the country adopted euthanasia laws that allow a doctor to euthanise a patient in incidents where it can be proven that they were experiencing unbearable suffering and had made an informed choice to die.