Former Dutch Prime Minister Dries van Agt and his wife Eugenie decided to die together by euthanasia. They were both 93 years old. They remained hand in hand in a hospital in Nijmegen, in the east of the country. The news was just published by the human rights foundation founded by Dries van Agt, but the couple died on February 5 and were buried in a private ceremony in the city of Nijmegen.
Dries van Agt, who ruled the Netherlands from 1977 to 1982, suffered a brain hemorrhage in 2019 and never recovered. The woman also had poor health and chose not to live without her husband.
“He died hand in hand with his beloved wife, his rock and rock, with whom he had been together for more than 70 years and whom he always continued to call ‘my girl,’” the organization said in a statement, without profit. Euthanasia has been legal in the Netherlands since 2002. The country allows assisted suicide for couples. Since 2022, 116 cases have been reported.