However, in the case of euthanasia the " necessity" which has been recognized by the Dutch courts is not a general necessity but specifically a medical necessity, measured in terms of the state of medical knowledge and the professional norms of doctors, and it seems clear that no one but a doctor can successfully invoke it.< $FJohn Griffiths, University of Groningen, Faculty of Law, unpublished paper, p. 1.> In brief, the Dutch defence of noedtoestand recognizes a situation in which a doctor is faced with a situation of emergency, and committing a crime is considered a lesser evil than adhering to the letter of the law.
Néanmoins, dans les cas d'euthanasie, la «nécessité» qui a été reconnue par les tribunaux néerlandais n'est pas générale, mais expressément médicale et par surcroît mesurée en fonction de l'état des connaissances médicales et des normes professionnelles des médecins.
