The chairman of a Dutch euthanasia clinic has revealed how he expects the number of people killed by euthanasia will double within the next eight years.

Steven Pleiter, chairman of Euthanasia Expertise clinic in the Hague said that within the next eight years in the Netherlands, he expects 12,000 people could be killed by Euthanasia every year.

Commenting on the chilling remarks, Michael Robinson, SPUC Director of Communications said: “The tragic stories seeping out of the Netherlands highlight the true and vicious nature of medically assisted death. Patients are entitled to care and respect for their basic human dignity. Nations which exercise the deadly practice of euthanasia inevitably introduce the exploitation and abuse of the most vulnerable of patients.”

Do the elderly want to die?

In 2002, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalise euthanasia. The Netherland’s suicide clinic, Euthanasia Expertise, kills an average of 900 people each year.

Earlier this year, SPUC reported on how requests to die at the suicide clinic soared by 22%.

The acceleration in euthanasia cases has mostly been related to a shift in demographics, since dementia amongst the old and “advanced age” is now listed as a major cause for seeking death.

It has been widely reported that elderly people living in the Netherlands have resorted to carrying anti-euthanasia cards out of fear of being killed.

SPUC’s Mr Robinson added: “It is sad that many elderly people are now living in fear and distrust their own doctors who should be expected to care for and protect them.

“Here in the UK, we need to make sure that we don’t make the same mistake. We must oppose every move to legalise assisted suicide. That would be the first tragic step towards creating a culture where sick, disabled or mentally ill people feel their best option in life is to die.”