Belgian Act on Euthanasia: alterations to be expected?
The Belgian 28 May 2002 Act has partially decriminalized euthanasia, i.e. intentionally terminating patient's life by a doctor at the individual's request. Until now, this Act has not undergone any far-reaching alterations. But it does not mean that the status quo applies. The existence of the Act was punctuated by different legal developments. The Belgian Constitutional Court made two judgments about it. Furthermore, numerous parliamentary bills were proposed in the Senate and the House of Representatives in relation with its provisions. If the contribution of the Constitutional Court's decisions to the debate on euthanasia is limited, in such a way that the Court's intervention does not contain the seeds of changes far as the Act on Euthanasia is concerned, the presented bills, on the contrary, could presage evolutions of the text.
Van Overstraeten
Marc
M
Université catholique de Louvain, Faculty of Law, Centre for Medical and Biomedical Law, Belgium.
D001530:Belgium; D005065:Euthanasia / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D012297:Right to Die / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence