Quebec euthanasia rates on track to match Belgian 7-8 year rates after 2 years

Sean Murphy*

Available statistics indicate that Quebec is on track to reach euthanasia rates  after two years that correspond to Belgian rates after seven to eight years (i.e., per 100,000 population and as a percentage of deaths from all causes).

Not all Quebec euthanasia statistics have been made public.  However, the following points appear to be of interest:

  • Almost 20 requests for euthanasia were made weekly in the province in the first half of 2017, slightly higher than the last half of 2016.
  • The percentage of requests that did not result in euthanasia increased slightly from about 37% to 40%
    • Increases in this category, when reported, were attributed mainly to patients becoming incompetent, dying or withdrawing their requests.

The Project’s analysis is available at Euthanasia Statistics: Quebec.

 

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