Evaluation of the euthanasia practice in Belgium. (FOD75)

Euthanasia continues to stir the minds 15 years after the entry into force of the Euthanasia Act. The call for independent research and extensive reflection is increasing. Unlike in the Netherlands, where a five-year multidisciplinary evaluation study is conducted at the initiative of the legislator that serves as a subject for a serious evidence-based policy and social debate - and where euthanasia policy is explicitly seen as an implementation process - in Belgium this evaluation is limited to biennial reports from the Federal Monitoring and Evaluation Commission on Euthanasia, and sporadic academic research that is dependent on external funding. These provide us with a lot of information, but also have their shortcomings. It is therefore not surprising that the lack of in-depth evaluation of euthanasia practice and consequently lack of necessary insights gives rise to unfounded debate, uninformed social discussions and repeated questions to amend the euthanasia law. The euthanasia practice and the euthanasia debate in Belgium would be well served with more scientific data and transparency about the current euthanasia practice. Whereas in Flanders there is mainly a call for deeper insight, research into euthanasia practice in the southern part of the country still needs to be started.

The Health Care Research Group at the End of Life at the Free University of Brussels (VUB) and Ghent University, and in particular the applicant, have been conducting independent research into end-of-life medical decisions and practice in Flanders and Belgium, especially on euthanasia and palliative sedation . A number of important findings have emerged from the past study that require a supplement to and a deeper understanding of euthanasia practice. This subsidy question aims to provide scientifically based answers to these issues. It aims to implement the research program below. The themes are a selection of the hottest issues in the current euthanasia debate in Belgium: the problem of (1) euthanasia in psychiatric patients and (2) the approach to gray zone palliative sedation.

Keywords:Euthanasia, Belgium, Palliative Care

Disciplines:Palliative care and end-of-life care