The slippery slope of euthanasia: Deaths have soared in several countries in recent years

Euthanasia and assisted dying are legal in a limited number of countries and jurisdictions. However, in recent years, the landscape has changed, resulting in a notable increase in the number of people resorting to these procedures globally.

Euthanasia comes in different forms: active, in which a professional directly causes death; passive, which consists of withdrawing or not initiating life-prolonging treatments; and assisted suicide, in which the patient puts an end to his or her own life with means provided by a physician.

In 2024, there was a considerable increase in cases worldwide, with more than 30,000 deaths assisted in countries where euthanasia is legalized or regulated. This increase was especially observed in places such as Canada, the Netherlands and Belgium.

As of February 2026, official, globally consolidated data for all of 2025 is not yet available.

Sustained growth

The 2024 figure marks a record worldwide, surpassing previous years due to sustained growth in the main countries where euthanasia is practiced.

The Dr. Gordon MacDonald, chief executive of Care Not Killing in the United Kingdom, told The Telegraph: "These figures show once you legalise assisted suicide or euthanasia, the numbers of those being killed and the reasons why, only ever go in one direction. Just look at Canada."

Canada, a "slippery slope"

The Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) system, implemented in Canada in 2016, is considered one of the most permissive in the world and has come under fire for its rapid expansion.

It is estimated that one in every 25 people who died in that country in 2024 received legal aid in dying.

According to The Telegraph, in 2016, just over 1,000 people died by euthanasia in Canada. Seven years later, estimates for 2023 put that figure at 15,343 cases.

Unlike many other countries, patients in Canada are not required to have exhausted all treatment options before requesting the procedure.

Moreover, The Telegraph revealed in October 2024 that members of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA), the group that led efforts to legalize assisted dying, had expressed concern that the practice is being "abused."

"In my view, that's not proper," they pointed out, adding that healthcare professionals should not bring up MAID with patients, as "it’s far too easy for that to become coercive."

Data revealed by the British newspaper also showed that people with lower incomes who were offered assisted dying were more likely to accept it.

Death tourism

In Switzerland, assisted suicide has been legal since 1947, although the law prohibits doctors from directly administering life-ending medication.

According to The Telegraph, that country, where the Dignitas clinic is located, has become one of the main destinations for so-called "death tourism."

According to the organization's data cited by the British newspaper in 2024, only 6% of the 3,916 assisted suicides performed corresponded to people residing in Switzerland. In contrast, those who make most use of these services are German (37%), British (15%) and French (14%) citizens.

Expansion in the U.S. and boom in Latin America

Similar rules on physician-assisted suicide exist in the United States. Death with Dignity, a U.S. pressure group cited by The Telegraph, claims that 10 states have some form of physician-assisted suicide, including California, Oregon and Washington.

In California, hundreds of prescriptions have been recorded annually in recent years, with steady growth. In 2023 alone, there were 1,281 prescriptions issued and 884 ingestion-induced deaths, including some stemming from prescriptions from previous years, a notable increase versus 2022, when 1,270 prescriptions and 853 deaths were counted.

In Oregon, 560 prescriptions were issued in 2023 and there were 367 ingestion-induced deaths, an increase of about 20% over 2022. These deaths represented 0.8% of the total in the state.

In Colombia, euthanasia has been allowed since 2015 under strict regulation. Even so, according to figures reported by the British newspaper, 271 procedures were carried out in 2023, an increase of 50% over 2022.