The extension of the Belgian euthanasia law to minors in 2014
- Author
- Kasper Raus (UGent) , Luc Deliens (UGent) and Kenneth Chambaere (UGent)
- Organization
- Abstract
- On May 16 2002, the Belgian parliament approved the original law permitting euthanasia. The law was voted in after three years of debate in parliament and within the Federal Advisory Committee on Bioethics. The focus of this chapter is an issue which has been of particular interest in recent public debates internationally: the extension of the law in 2014 to permit minors with ‘capacity of discernment’ to have access to euthanasia. Although the law now theoretically applies to Belgians of all ages, in reality, euthanasia for minors will be limited to older adolescents. This chapter considers how the issue of children’s access to euthanasia came to be considered and the process of reform including the positions and arguments of different entities. Also considered is parliament’s rationale for this change in the law. Of particular significance in the reform process was the view that the age barrier for euthanasia was perceived as arbitrary. The prime qualifier for a valid, well-considered and competent request should not be chronological age but mental age and maturity.
- Keywords
- Euthanasia, Minors, Legal reform, Belgium, euthanasia law, capacity of discernment, bioethics, public debate, law reform, politics
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8729344
- MLA
- Raus, Kasper, et al. “The Extension of the Belgian Euthanasia Law to Minors in 2014.” International Perspectives on End-of-Life Law Reform : Politics, Persuasion and Persistence, edited by Ben P. White and Lindy Willmott, Cambridge University Press, 2021, pp. 40–62, doi:10.1017/9781108779364.006.
- APA
- Raus, K., Deliens, L., & Chambaere, K. (2021). The extension of the Belgian euthanasia law to minors in 2014. In B. P. White & L. Willmott (Eds.), International perspectives on end-of-life law reform : politics, persuasion and persistence (pp. 40–62). https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108779364.006
- Chicago author-date
- Raus, Kasper, Luc Deliens, and Kenneth Chambaere. 2021. “The Extension of the Belgian Euthanasia Law to Minors in 2014.” In International Perspectives on End-of-Life Law Reform : Politics, Persuasion and Persistence, edited by Ben P. White and Lindy Willmott, 40–62. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108779364.006.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Raus, Kasper, Luc Deliens, and Kenneth Chambaere. 2021. “The Extension of the Belgian Euthanasia Law to Minors in 2014.” In International Perspectives on End-of-Life Law Reform : Politics, Persuasion and Persistence, ed by. Ben P. White and Lindy Willmott, 40–62. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108779364.006.
- Vancouver
- 1.Raus K, Deliens L, Chambaere K. The extension of the Belgian euthanasia law to minors in 2014. In: White BP, Willmott L, editors. International perspectives on end-of-life law reform : politics, persuasion and persistence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2021. p. 40–62.
- IEEE
- [1]K. Raus, L. Deliens, and K. Chambaere, “The extension of the Belgian euthanasia law to minors in 2014,” in International perspectives on end-of-life law reform : politics, persuasion and persistence, B. P. White and L. Willmott, Eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021, pp. 40–62.
@incollection{8729344,
abstract = {{On May 16 2002, the Belgian parliament approved the original law permitting euthanasia. The law was voted in after three years of debate in parliament and within the Federal Advisory Committee on Bioethics. The focus of this chapter is an issue which has been of particular interest in recent public debates internationally: the extension of the law in 2014 to permit minors with ‘capacity of discernment’ to have access to euthanasia. Although the law now theoretically applies to Belgians of all ages, in reality, euthanasia for minors will be limited to older adolescents. This chapter considers how the issue of children’s access to euthanasia came to be considered and the process of reform including the positions and arguments of different entities. Also considered is parliament’s rationale for this change in the law. Of particular significance in the reform process was the view that the age barrier for euthanasia was perceived as arbitrary. The prime qualifier for a valid, well-considered and competent request should not be chronological age but mental age and maturity.}},
author = {{Raus, Kasper and Deliens, Luc and Chambaere, Kenneth}},
booktitle = {{International perspectives on end-of-life law reform : politics, persuasion and persistence}},
editor = {{White, Ben P. and Willmott, Lindy}},
isbn = {{9781108489775}},
keywords = {{Euthanasia,Minors,Legal reform,Belgium,euthanasia law,capacity of discernment,bioethics,public debate,law reform,politics}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{40--62}},
publisher = {{Cambridge University Press}},
title = {{The extension of the Belgian euthanasia law to minors in 2014}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.1017/9781108779364.006}},
year = {{2021}},
}
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