THE HAGUE: Dutch prosecutors said Thursday they will not appeal against the acquittal of a doctor who euthanised a woman with severe dementia but referred the case to the country's highest court for legal clarification.
Earlier this month in a landmark case, judges cleared the 68-year-old doctor of any wrongdoing after prosecutors accused her of failing to properly consult her client before euthanising her.
The landmark case hit the headlines in the Netherlands due to details of how the unnamed woman had to be restrained by her family as she was euthanised, after having been given a sedative in her coffee beforehand.
Prosecutors said the 74-year-old woman suffering from Alzheimers may have changed her mind about dying.
But the judges ruled that the doctor complied with all the strict euthanasia requirements under law in the Netherlands, the first country to legalise the practice in 2002.
Prosecutors said although they disagreed with the court's ruling, they decided not to appeal because it realised "how burdensome the case is for the nursing home doctor."
They referred the case to the Attorney General's office, who agreed it should go to the Supreme Court in The Hague to establish legal clarity on how doctors should deal with similar cases in the future.
"The Public Prosecution Service wants clarity on a number of legal questions," prosecutors said, adding "this spares the doctor from facing appeal proceedings."
"Her case has thus come to a definitive end." During the court case, judges heard that when the patient was first diagnosed with the disease she said in a statement that she wanted to be euthanised once she was taken into a care institution.
The woman also added: "I want to be able to decide (when to die) while still in my senses and when I think the time is right." But the judges said at the time the decision was made to euthanise her, she was in a deeply demented condition.
"The doctor did not need to verify her wish for euthanasia," they said. Euthanasia can only be carried out under strict conditions in the Netherlands.
These include that the patient must have "unbearable and endless suffering" and have requested to die "earnestly and with full conviction".
Last year 6,126 people were euthanised in the Netherlands, according to the Dutch Euthanasia Review Committee (RTE), which reviews every case to ensure that guidelines are followed.