Euthanasia cases in Spain increased 24 percent in 2023, according to the Government’s latest annual report.

Half of the 766 requests for euthanasia were approved, and 334 assisted suicides were completed.

In about 25 percent of the cases, applicants died before their request could be approved, and some patients voluntarily withdrew their applications for medical assistance in dying. The report did not detail why some applications for the procedure were rejected and others were accepted.

Under the euthanasia law, people experiencing “grave, chronic, or impossible suffering” caused by a “chronic and incurable disease” can apply for assistance in dying. Those requests are submitted by the patient’s doctor to a review committee that has the authority to issue a final approval.

Polonia Castellanos, president of Abogados Cristianos, a nonprofit legal defense group, says the 2021 law is “very poorly drafted” and “too ambiguous.” She says it can apply to almost anyone suffering from a chronic medical condition. She fears abuses can occur when a vulnerable patient suffering from a long-term illness is treated by a strongly pro-euthanasia doctor.