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Euthanasia: the case of Belgium

In Belgium, around twenty deaths by euthanasia take place monthly, some in the home. The doctor can get the necessary drugs in a "kit" from the local pharmacy.

A controversy has broken out in Belgium over the availability in pharmacies of a "euthanasia kit". Meanwhile in France, the law of 22 April 2005 recognises the right of the terminally ill to refuse treatment, and doctors' right to prescribe treatments whose secondary effects may curtail life. But acts specifically aimed at curtailing life (euthanasia) remain prohibited.

Belgium decriminalised medical euthanasia in 2002. In practice, the doctor must be well acquainted with the person asking to die and be convinced that they are requesting to do so of their own free will. The doctor must be certain of the gravity of the patient’s condition and that it is incurable, and of the unbearable nature of their suffering.

The doctor is under an obligation to register the request, but not to carry out the euthanasia in person. He or she is not the only judge of the patient’s health: the opinion of another independent practitioner must be sought, and the doctor must talk to the care team and to the patient’s relatives if the patient so wishes.

This legalisation has paved the way for a limited number of declared euthanasia deaths: around 20 a month. In two cases out of five, medical euthanasia takes place in the home, and the doctor can obtain the necessary drugs from a local pharmacy. Hence the marketing, not without controversy, of a "euthanasia kit" by one chain of pharmacies.

©Prescrire July 2005

Source: "Euthanasie : un "kit" pour les pharmacies belges" Rev Prescrire 2005 ; 25 (263) : 543.

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