Beginning today, the Dutch right-to-die association NVVE is celebrating Euthanasia Week with a selection of documentary films and youth outreach. The festivities mark the 15th year of legal euthanasia in the Netherlands.
Currently, more than 5,000 people die annually in the Netherlands after euthanasia.
Activities for young people organised by NVVE Jongeren, the youth wing of NVVE, are a significant part of the program. There is a film about a 27-year-old woman who chooses to die. Another feature is Café Doodnormaal (Dead Normal Café), a monthly discussion group about end-of-life issues and autonomy for young people.
NVVE provides information, consultation and education about euthanasia and assisted suicide in the Netherlands. Its motto is: “A dignified life deserves a dignified death”. It claims to have 161,000 members and has a reputation for innovation in end-of-life options. In 2012, for instance, it launched a mobile van service so that people whose own doctors had refused to euthanase them could get a more compliant doctor.
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