Yesterday I talked about Brittany Maynard ending her life using Oregon’s “Death with Dignity Act.” I also mentioned how euthanasia is being used in the Netherlands. We can see the problems with physician-assisted suicide by looking at what is happening in Europe.

An article in The Christian Institute warned that the euthanasia rate in the Netherlands is increasing dramatically. “Euthanasia deaths in the Netherlands have risen by 151 percent over the last seven years.” Back in 2006, about 2000 people were put to death. Now the annual euthanasia deaths are approaching 5000.

When you break down the numbers, there are other ominous implications. About 3,600 people in the Netherlands were euthanized because they had cancer. But nearly 100 were put to death because of dementia. And the study also found that many people with psychiatric problems were put to death in this country’s system.

Dr. Peter Saunders, Campaign Director of Care Not Killing, said, “What we are seeing in the Netherlands is incremental extension of the steady intentional escalation of numbers with a gradual widening of the categories of patients to be included.”

In a recent Breakpoint commentary, Eric Metaxas calls the phrase “incremental extension” an example of the slippery slope. In my book, Christian Ethics in Plain Language, I talk about how phrases like “death with dignity” and the “right to die” have evolved into the idea that people with illness or disability have a “duty to die.”

Peter Saunders raises these questions because the U.K. is considering legislation that would put England on the same path as the Netherlands. He said that the “House of Lords calculated that with a Dutch-type law in Britain we would be seeing over 13,000 cases of euthanasia per year.” He added that might be a low estimate. He also warns that “once you relax the law on euthanasia or assisted suicide, steady extension will follow as night follows day.”

If you want to know why physician-assisted suicide is a bad idea, all you need to do it look at Europe.