The Legalization of Assisted Suicide and the Law of Unintended Consequences: A Review of the Dutch and Oregon Experiments and Leading Utilitarian Arguments for Legal Change

Margaret Pabst Battin, of the University of Utah, for example, has argued that the practice of assisted suicide and euthanasia in the Netherlands is "virtually abuse-free."34 Joceyln Downie has suggested. that the Dutch experience shows that euthanasia, even when legalized, is rarely employed.35 Epstein has asserted that "Dutch physicians are not euthanasia enthusiasts and they are slow to practice it in individual cases,36 and Posner has submitted that the "fear of doctors' rushing ss an su, sn p n s and does not appear realistic."37 In this Part, I consider such claims in light of the formal legal-medical rules associated with the practice of assisted suicide and euthanasia in the Netherlands, as well as data reflecting the actual practices and attitudes of Dutch physicians.