Assisted suicide is not only limited to America. Many countries have tested different systems of active and passive euthanasia. In the Netherlands for example, suicide is highly regulated but it is common; last year there were 1000 cases in which a life was terminated without a specific request (Van Biema 61). However, this can be rectified by instituting stricter laws governing the cases in which a person may request assisted termination of their life. In Australia, a law was passed in 1995 that permits active euthanasia in 1999, once certain other laws are passed (OCRT 5). In Holland, euthanasia is illegal, but doctors cannot be prosecuted for ending a patient's life if the patient is in intolerable pain, if the patient has repeatedly asked to die, if two doctors agree on the procedure, and if the relatives of the patient are consulted (OCRT 6).
