Eugenie Krekelberg: Did Dries van Agt die with his wife?

Former Dutch Prime Minister Dries van Agt and his wife Eugenie have passed away hand-in-hand in a double euthanasia. Van Agt, who served as prime minister between 1977 and 1982, and his wife were both 93 years old.

The Rights Forum, founded in 2009 by Dries van Agt, announced the news on their Instagram, stating: “We announce with sadness that the founder of The Rights Forum and former Prime Minister Dries Van Agt passed away on Monday, February 5, in his hometown of Nijmegen. He died hand-in-hand with his beloved wife Eugenie van Agt-Krekelberg, the support and companion with whom he shared more than seventy years and whom he always referred to as ‘my girl.’ The funeral took place in a private circle. Dries van Agt and his wife were both 93 years old.”

The Government of the Netherlands’ website outlines the legal framework for euthanasia and assisted suicide. It states that euthanasia and assisted suicide are legal only if the criteria laid down in the Dutch Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide (Review Procedures) Act are fully observed. Physicians are immune from criminal prosecution only if these criteria are met. Requests for euthanasia often stem from patients experiencing unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement. These requests must be made earnestly and with full conviction, as patients view euthanasia as the only escape from their situation. However, patients do not have an absolute right to euthanasia, and doctors do not have an absolute duty to perform it.

The article also mentions another instance of double euthanasia involving former MP Jozef van der Heijden and his wife Gonnie in 2016.