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Double euthanasia as former Dutch PM and his wife end their lives together

The former Dutch Prime Minister and his wife had their lives ended in a double euthanasia last week according to media reports.

Dries van Agt, Prime Minister in the Netherlands between 1977 and 1982 and the first leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal party, and his wife Eugenie, were both euthanised on Monday 5 February, both aged 93.

Double euthanasia remains relatively rare in the Netherlands, where euthanasia has been legal since 2002. The first cases were reported by the Regional Euthanasia Review Commitees (RTE), which revealed in its 2020 annual report that there were 13 instances of double euthanasia where both members of the couple were euthanised simultaneously (26 people in total). The number increased to 16 couples (32 people) in 2021 and 29 couples (58 people) in 2022.

There were 8,720 cases of euthanasia (and assisted suicide) in the Netherlands in 2022, accounting for 5.1% of all deaths in the Netherlands in that year. Euthanasia deaths in 2022 represent a 13.7% increase on 2021. 

Under Dutch law, there is no requirement that a person be terminally ill in order to end their life by euthanasia but they must be thought to be suffering unbearably.

Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “This is a terribly sad case in which an elderly couple ended their own lives with the state’s support. We do not celebrate suicide in ordinary circumstances and we should not celebrate it in this instance. Whatever stage of life we’re living through, our lives have dignity and it is not up to the state to decide that some lives are worth living and some are not”.

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Dear reader,

We are facing two major threats in the Lords - an extreme assisted suicide Bill and an abortion up to birth amendment.

THE GOOD NEWS - OUR STRATEGY IS WORKING

At Second Reading of the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill in the House of Lords, a record number of Peers spoke, and of those who took a position, around two-thirds opposed the assisted suicide Bill. That is more than double the number who supported it.

Our side also secured a significant win, with the establishment of a dedicated Lords Select Committee to further scrutinise the Bill’s proposals – and Committee Stage has been delayed until it reports.

This momentum has been built by tens of thousands of people like you. Thanks to your hard work, Peers are receiving a very large number of emails and letters by post, making the case against the Bill. 

Thanks to your support, we have been able to mount a major campaign in Parliament, in the media and online – alongside your own efforts – to keep us on course for our goal: that this dangerous Bill never becomes law.

BUT MORE CHALLENGES LIE AHEAD

We cannot become complacent. Well-funded groups - Dignity in Dying, My Death My Decision and Humanists UK - have poured millions into pushing assisted suicide. They can see support is slipping and will fight hard to reverse that.

This is not the only fight we are facing in the House of Lords.

At the same time, the Antoniazzi abortion up to birth amendment, which passed in the House of Commons in June, is moving through the House of Lords as part of the Crime and Policing Bill.

Second Reading will take place in a matter of weeks. It will then go on to Committee and Report Stages, where we will be up against the UK’s largest abortion providers – BPAS and MSI Reproductive Choices (formerly Marie Stopes) – who are expected to lobby for even more extreme changes to our abortion laws.

If the Antoniazzi amendment becomes law, it would no longer be illegal for women to perform their own abortions for any reason – including sex-selective purposes – at any point up to and during birth.

Thousands of vulnerable lives - at the beginning and the end of life - depend on what happens next. We must do everything in our power to stop these radical proposals.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Our campaign against the Leadbeater Bill in the House of Lords is working, but the work we have already done has significantly stretched our limited resources.

We are now stepping up our efforts against the assisted suicide Bill while launching a major push to stop the abortion up to birth amendment in the Lords. 

To fight effectively on both fronts, we aim to raise £183,750 by midnight this Sunday (5 October 2025).

Every donation, large or small, will help protect lives, and UK taxpayers can add 25p to every £1 through Gift Aid at no extra cost.

Will you donate now to help protect vulnerable lives from these two major threats?

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