Due care in the context of euthanasia requests by persons with psychiatric illness : lessons from a recent criminal trial in Belgium
- Author
- Marc De Hert, Sigrid Sterckx (UGent) and Kristof Van Assche
- Organization
- Abstract
- Belgium is one of very few countries where euthanasia on the basis of psychiatric illness is legally possible. Three physicians involved in the euthanasia of a 38-year-old woman suffering from psychiatric illness recently faced a criminal trial for “murder by poisoning”, for allegedly having failed to comply with several requirements of the Belgian Euthanasia Law. Although none of the physicians were convicted, the case generated extensive debate, in the media and the general public as well as in the medical profession and among policy makers. In this chapter, we take this trial as the starting point for a critical analysis of the clinical-psychiatric, ethical, and legal issues involved in evaluating euthanasia requests in cases of complex psychiatric disorders. In these cases, the requirements of the Belgian Euthanasia Law could be improved by mandating the advice of two psychiatrists, who are experts in the treatment of the specific condition of the person requesting euthanasia. Simultaneously with the process of evaluating the euthanasia request, there should be a parallel treatment track in which all therapeutic and recovery-oriented options are explored. These two tracks should not be in the hands of the same physician.
- Keywords
- Euthanasia, Belgium, Mental suffering, Psychiatric illness, Criminal law
Downloads
-
(...).pdf
- full text (Published version)
- |
- UGent only
- |
- |
- 417.16 KB
Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01GWEJ5J436RS9PJNDN1FMX3K0
- MLA
- De Hert, Marc, et al. “Due Care in the Context of Euthanasia Requests by Persons with Psychiatric Illness : Lessons from a Recent Criminal Trial in Belgium.” New Directions in the Ethics of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, edited by Michael Cholbi and Jukka Varelius, 2nd ed., vol. 103, Springer, 2023, pp. 181–201, doi:10.1007/978-3-031-25315-7_11.
- APA
- De Hert, M., Sterckx, S., & Van Assche, K. (2023). Due care in the context of euthanasia requests by persons with psychiatric illness : lessons from a recent criminal trial in Belgium. In M. Cholbi & J. Varelius (Eds.), New directions in the ethics of assisted suicide and euthanasia (2nd ed., Vol. 103, pp. 181–201). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25315-7_11
- Chicago author-date
- De Hert, Marc, Sigrid Sterckx, and Kristof Van Assche. 2023. “Due Care in the Context of Euthanasia Requests by Persons with Psychiatric Illness : Lessons from a Recent Criminal Trial in Belgium.” In New Directions in the Ethics of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, edited by Michael Cholbi and Jukka Varelius, 2nd ed., 103:181–201. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25315-7_11.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- De Hert, Marc, Sigrid Sterckx, and Kristof Van Assche. 2023. “Due Care in the Context of Euthanasia Requests by Persons with Psychiatric Illness : Lessons from a Recent Criminal Trial in Belgium.” In New Directions in the Ethics of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, ed by. Michael Cholbi and Jukka Varelius, 103:181–201. 2nd ed. Cham: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-25315-7_11.
- Vancouver
- 1.De Hert M, Sterckx S, Van Assche K. Due care in the context of euthanasia requests by persons with psychiatric illness : lessons from a recent criminal trial in Belgium. In: Cholbi M, Varelius J, editors. New directions in the ethics of assisted suicide and euthanasia. 2nd ed. Cham: Springer; 2023. p. 181–201.
- IEEE
- [1]M. De Hert, S. Sterckx, and K. Van Assche, “Due care in the context of euthanasia requests by persons with psychiatric illness : lessons from a recent criminal trial in Belgium,” in New directions in the ethics of assisted suicide and euthanasia, 2nd ed., vol. 103, M. Cholbi and J. Varelius, Eds. Cham: Springer, 2023, pp. 181–201.
@incollection{01GWEJ5J436RS9PJNDN1FMX3K0,
abstract = {{Belgium is one of very few countries where euthanasia on the basis of psychiatric illness is legally possible. Three physicians involved in the euthanasia of a 38-year-old woman suffering from psychiatric illness recently faced a criminal trial for “murder by poisoning”, for allegedly having failed to comply with several requirements of the Belgian Euthanasia Law. Although none of the physicians were convicted, the case generated extensive debate, in the media and the general public as well as in the medical profession and among policy makers. In this chapter, we take this trial as the starting point for a critical analysis of the clinical-psychiatric, ethical, and legal issues involved in evaluating euthanasia requests in cases of complex psychiatric disorders. In these cases, the requirements of the Belgian Euthanasia Law could be improved by mandating the advice of two psychiatrists, who are experts in the treatment of the specific condition of the person requesting euthanasia. Simultaneously with the process of evaluating the euthanasia request, there should be a parallel treatment track in which all therapeutic and recovery-oriented options are explored. These two tracks should not be in the hands of the same physician.}},
author = {{De Hert, Marc and Sterckx, Sigrid and Van Assche, Kristof}},
booktitle = {{New directions in the ethics of assisted suicide and euthanasia}},
editor = {{Cholbi, Michael and Varelius, Jukka}},
isbn = {{9783031253140}},
keywords = {{Euthanasia,Belgium,Mental suffering,Psychiatric illness,Criminal law}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{181--201}},
publisher = {{Springer}},
series = {{The International Library of Bioethics}},
title = {{Due care in the context of euthanasia requests by persons with psychiatric illness : lessons from a recent criminal trial in Belgium}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25315-7_11}},
volume = {{103}},
year = {{2023}},
}
- Altmetric
- View in Altmetric