Legality of euthanasia occurred in September 2016. In September 2014, the Federal Euthanasia Commission gave convicted rapist and murderer Frank Van Den Bleeken the right to assisted suicide. Van Den Bleeken had served decades in prison for a 1989 crime and no longer wished to live. Over a dozen other inmates filed similar petitions. In January 2015, the Justice Ministry acknowledged that Van Den Bleeken's doctors recommended against euthanasia and that alternative psychological care would be sought for him. Voluntary active euthanasia, called "physician assisted dying", is legal in Canada for all people over the age of 18 who have a terminal illness
Euthanasia in the Netherlands for this rise is not clear. Under current Dutch law, euthanasia by doctors is only legal in cases of ""hopeless and unbearable"" suffering. In practice this means that it is limited to those suffering from serious medical conditions like severe pain, exhaustion or asphyxia. Sometimes, psychiatric patients that have proven to be untreatable, can get euthanasia. There is much discussion about people with early dementia who have previously stated in a written will that if they ever got dementia, they would want to get euthanasia. In February 2010 a citizens' initiative called "Out of Free Will" further demanded that all