The availability of euthanasia in the Netherlands has over time fueled demand for it, according to one former supporter of the law.

Theo Boer is a Professor of healthcare ethics in Groningen and a former member of a euthanasia review committee.

He agrees with proponents that the law is well-monitored, but he disagrees with its significance.

In a letter to the Irish Times on Wednesday, he said in 1972 his own (Protestant) church was the first worldwide to support it.

“However, with hindsight, many regret supporting the law, including me. Since 2006, the numbers have increased incessantly. Last year 7,000 people received euthanasia, and in some neighbourhoods one in every five deaths is preceded by euthanasia. Is this the “last resort” we once advocated?”

Given the excellent quality of palliative care in the Netherlands, he says there is only one explanation: “supply creates demand”.

“Right-to-die societies have successfully made us believe that euthanasia is the most, if not only, dignified death. Let’s not romanticise the Dutch experiment”, he adds.