Overview
- Regional data show 120 people requested medical assistance to die in Euskadi in 2025 and 78 of those requests were granted.
- The Basque health system reduced average time from first request to provision to 39.4 days in 2025, below the 41-day legal benchmark and far faster than the 82-day national average.
- Reports say 31 of the 120 applicants died during processing, occurring before Commission evaluation, during case analysis, or in the waiting period after a formal opinion.
- The Commission of Guarantee and Evaluation of Euthanasia and the law's required waiting periods shape how long cases take to move from request to provision and create timing pressures for people with rapidly advancing illness.
- Officials and the annual report describe a steady rise in demand and place the Basque Country among the most agile regions in processing requests, a trend that could prompt calls to adjust procedures to reduce the risk of applicants dying before completion.