Malaga province registered more than a third of all euthanasia requests across the whole of Andalucía in 2022

Malaga is the province with the most requests for euthanasia in Andalucía since dignified death was legalised in Spain in 2021, according to new figures.

Malaga registered 18 assisted dying requested between 2021 and 2022 which accounts for 35% of all cases in Andalucía, becoming - by far - the province with the greatest demand since the new legislation.

This is detailed in a report prepared by the Commission of Guarantee and Evaluation in Andalucía (CgyEA) of the law of dignified death; a document seen by SUR and which covers the period from November 2021 to December 2022.

There have been 81 euthanasia applications throughout Andalucía, the report showed. A total of 52 (3 in 2021 and 49 in 2022) are before the Guarantee and Evaluation Commission of Andalucía. The rest of the applications (29) are broken down as follows: three withdrawals prior to the start of the process; 17 deaths prior; three pending receipt of confirmation; and six unfavourable reports from the responsible physician, not contested by the patient.

The report also goes into detail about the type of pathology of the individuals. Among them, neurological pathology stands out with 20 cases, followed by multipathology with 13 and oncology with 10. There are also four with psychiatric diseases, three with respiratory diseases and two with cardiovascular diseases.

Of the 52 files, 32 were for men and 20 for women. The age range with the highest number of requests is from 70 to 79 years (18), followed by 50 to 59 years. There are only four applications for those under 40 years of age, while there are seven for those over 80 years of age.

Malaga province accounts for 35% of all cases, registering 18 applications out of 52. Well behind are Seville and Granada, with eight each, while the least number of applications is in Huelva, with two.