This is not an act of euthanasia : legally correct but ethically problematic?
- Author
- Frank Schweitser, Johan Stuy, Wim Distelmans, Christophe Lemmens and Johan Braeckman (UGent)
- Organization
- Abstract
- In 2015, the Belgian Federal Commission for the Control and Evaluation of Euthanasia referred a physician to the public prosecutor’s office because it concluded that the physician might have violated the legal conditions for euthanasia. It was the commission’s first referral since its establishment in 2002. However, in 2019, the Antwerp Court sitting in chambers decided not to pursue the physician in criminal court. News reports suggested that it had ruled that the physician did not perform euthanasia because the patient drank the lethal potion herself, thus classifying the act as physician-assisted suicide. However, the court did not make the reasons for its decision public.In this article, we consider the legal and ethical aspects of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. Although we discern clear differences between these end-of-life decisions, we also note important similarities. Countries that legalise voluntary physician-assisted dying may choose to legislate one or both end-of-life decisions. Providing a legal basis for both options can prevent major legal problems, ensuring that those doctors who violate the law are not acquitted.
- Keywords
- Law, General Medicine
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01HDPHTD3WA7Y6CEMF0D21JVHQ
- MLA
- Schweitser, Frank, et al. “This Is Not an Act of Euthanasia : Legally Correct but Ethically Problematic?” MEDICAL LAW INTERNATIONAL, vol. 24, no. 1, 2024, pp. 82–89, doi:10.1177/09685332231204737.
- APA
- Schweitser, F., Stuy, J., Distelmans, W., Lemmens, C., & Braeckman, J. (2024). This is not an act of euthanasia : legally correct but ethically problematic? MEDICAL LAW INTERNATIONAL, 24(1), 82–89. https://doi.org/10.1177/09685332231204737
- Chicago author-date
- Schweitser, Frank, Johan Stuy, Wim Distelmans, Christophe Lemmens, and Johan Braeckman. 2024. “This Is Not an Act of Euthanasia : Legally Correct but Ethically Problematic?” MEDICAL LAW INTERNATIONAL 24 (1): 82–89. https://doi.org/10.1177/09685332231204737.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Schweitser, Frank, Johan Stuy, Wim Distelmans, Christophe Lemmens, and Johan Braeckman. 2024. “This Is Not an Act of Euthanasia : Legally Correct but Ethically Problematic?” MEDICAL LAW INTERNATIONAL 24 (1): 82–89. doi:10.1177/09685332231204737.
- Vancouver
- 1.Schweitser F, Stuy J, Distelmans W, Lemmens C, Braeckman J. This is not an act of euthanasia : legally correct but ethically problematic? MEDICAL LAW INTERNATIONAL. 2024;24(1):82–9.
- IEEE
- [1]F. Schweitser, J. Stuy, W. Distelmans, C. Lemmens, and J. Braeckman, “This is not an act of euthanasia : legally correct but ethically problematic?,” MEDICAL LAW INTERNATIONAL, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 82–89, 2024.
@article{01HDPHTD3WA7Y6CEMF0D21JVHQ,
abstract = {{In 2015, the Belgian Federal Commission for the Control and Evaluation of Euthanasia referred a physician to the public prosecutor’s office because it concluded that the physician might have violated the legal conditions for euthanasia. It was the commission’s first referral since its establishment in 2002. However, in 2019, the Antwerp Court sitting in chambers decided not to pursue the physician in criminal court. News reports suggested that it had ruled that the physician did not perform euthanasia because the patient drank the lethal potion herself, thus classifying the act as physician-assisted suicide. However, the court did not make the reasons for its decision public.In this article, we consider the legal and ethical aspects of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. Although we discern clear differences between these end-of-life decisions, we also note important similarities. Countries that legalise voluntary physician-assisted dying may choose to legislate one or both end-of-life decisions. Providing a legal basis for both options can prevent major legal problems, ensuring that those doctors who violate the law are not acquitted.}},
author = {{Schweitser, Frank and Stuy, Johan and Distelmans, Wim and Lemmens, Christophe and Braeckman, Johan}},
issn = {{0968-5332}},
journal = {{MEDICAL LAW INTERNATIONAL}},
keywords = {{Law,General Medicine}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{82--89}},
title = {{This is not an act of euthanasia : legally correct but ethically problematic?}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.1177/09685332231204737}},
volume = {{24}},
year = {{2024}},
}
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