THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) - The Dutch government does not have to ease its restrictions on assisted suicide after a court Tuesday slapped down an appeal from a group campaigning for the right to die without medical assistance.

The Netherlands was the world's first country to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide in 2002 but under very strict conditions.

Assisted suicide is technically illegal unless performed by a doctor who has determined the patient's suffering is "unbearable with no prospect of improvement."

The physician must also conclude there is "no reasonable alternative" care and consult another independent colleague, who comes to the same conclusion.

Campaign group Last Will Cooperative sued the state in 2022, arguing that these restrictions violated patients' rights to choose how and when they die.

A lower court found in favor of the state, prompting the group to take its case to the Appeals Court in the Hague.

But the Appeals Court also rejected the argument that the assisted suicide ban contravened the European Convention on Human Rights.

"The case law of the European Court of Human Rights clearly shows that the Dutch ban on assisted suicide does not violate Article Eight of the ECHR," said the Appeals Court.

Article Eight enshrines in law the right to respect for private and family life.

A growing number of Dutch people are choosing to die by euthanasia.

In 2024, a total of 9,958 people died this way, according to official statistics.

That was a 10-percent rise compared to the previous year, according to the Regional Euthanasia Review Committee.

Euthanasia is when a doctor administers a lethal drug to end the life of a patient.

Assisted suicide is when a physician gives the patient a lethal substance to ingest.

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If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK). Visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.

By Agence France-Presse

Source: Courthouse News Service