Euthanasia in Belgium seen from abroad...

Though Belgium legalised euthanasia in 2002, eighteen years after the Netherlands (in 1984), it has now overtaken the Netherlands in numbers of deaths. There were 1,803 reported cases in 2013 (more than double the 822 reported cases in 2009). According to research conducted by Chambaere (see below) these official figures underreport euthanasia by around 50%. What is more worrying is that research indicates that more than 1,000 patients a year (1.7% of all deaths) have their lives ended deliberately without having requested it. This figure has not declined with time.

The Belgium law came to prominence recently with the decision in February 2014 to extend euthanasia to children. This has caused concern among clinicians and bioethicists in other countries.

(see references in the article attached)

http://www.bioethics.org.uk/evidenceguide.html

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