"Dutch Researchers Find Autism and Intellectual Disabilities Cited in Euthanasia Requests"

Researchers have found that several people with autism and intellectual disabilities have been legally euthanized in the Netherlands in recent years because they believed they could not lead normal lives. The cases, including five individuals under 30, have raised concerns about the limits of the country's euthanasia law, which originally allowed doctors to kill patients at their request if they had an incurable illness causing "unbearable" suffering. The records show that some patients cited factors related to their autism or intellectual disabilities, such as social isolation and an inability to cope, as reasons for seeking euthanasia. Critics argue that more support should be offered to these individuals, and there are concerns that similar trends may be occurring in other countries with permissive euthanasia laws, such as Canada.