Belgium Legalises Voluntary Euthanasia - 16 May 2002
The Belgian parliament today approved a bill making Belgium the second country in Europe to legalise the practice of giving terminally ill patients the right to die under limited conditions.In the vote late today, the House of Representatives approved the bill 86-51, with 10 abstentions. The Senate had already approved it last year.The vote largely reflected a split between
the governing majority of Liberals, Socialists and Greens, and the opposition Christian Democrats and right-wing parties.
"This is a text reflecting freedom. Nothing is imposed," said Socialist Thierry Giet in defence of the law. The Christian Democrats immediately vowed to challenge the law in court.Thursday's vote came after two years of parliamentary debate. Currently,only the Netherlands permits euthanasia under strict conditions.
The bill defined euthanasia as an act practised by a third party intentionally ending the life of a person at his request.
Under the bill, this can be practiced by doctors only on patients who have reached the legal adult age, 18 in Belgium, and at their specific, voluntary and repeated request. A patient seeking euthanasia must be in a hopeless medical situation and be constantly suffering physically or psychologically, the measure says.If the person is not in the terminal phase of his illness, his doctor must consult with a second doctor, either a psychiatrist or a specialist in the disease concerned.At least one month must pass between the written request and carrying out the act.
Based on an article in the Times of London by Raf Casert and forwarded by Deliverance News Service.
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