THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EUTHANASIA AND SUICIDE IN THE NETHERLANDS - A TIME-SERIES ANALYSIS, 1950-1990

Objective. There has been much public debate on assisted suicide and e uthanasia. One potential ''slippery slope'' issue is the effect of eut hanasia on the incidence of suicide, a question on which there has bee n a paucity of empirical research. The present paper explores the rela tionship between the growing legal acceptance of euthanasia and physic ian-assisted suicide on the suicide rate in the Netherlands. Methods. Yule-Walker time series techniques are applied to annual data on suici de rates in the Netherlands from 1950 to 1990. Controls are introduced for the covariates of legal change. Results. There was a significant bivariate relationship between euthanasia and suicide. However, contro lling for the sociodemographic covariates of legal change, suicide is not significantly related to euthanasia. Conclusion. The results provi de the first time series evidence on the nature of legal change, eutha nasia, and suicide.