In Belgium, theeuthanasia is a legal act since May 2002. Today, any person (even minor, since the law of 2016) suffering from an illness considered “serious and incurable” and being in “a medical situation without outcome” can ask that we put an end to his own life – if certain very precise conditions are met, of course.
Patients can also give “instructions” for their end of life by writing an “advance declaration of will”, a document which will be implemented in particular in the event that they are no longer able to clearly express their wishes thereafter. (in case of coma, for example).
According to a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Brussels and published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, in Belgium, requests for euthanasia are on the increase. Thus, between 2003 and 2013, 8,752 patients in psychological and physical distress asked to die. More precisely, the number has multiplied by 8: 235 requests in 2003, 1,807 requests in 2013. And according to the latest data provided by the Belgian authorities, in 2015, more than 2,000 patients opted for euthanasia.
Cancer patients under 80
According to these studies, euthanasia mainly concerns patients under the age of 80 and / or suffering from a Cancer (69% of cases). However, in the space of 10 years, doctors have seen an increase in demands among those over 80, with seniors living in retirement homes, patients suffering from a disease other than cancer as well as people not at the end of their life.
How to explain this increase? According to scientists, it is above all a question of society: their hypothesis is that public opinion has evolved vis-à-vis euthanasia, no longer considering this act as taboo. In addition, they believe that doctors are more and more open to this practice, and that the law is increasingly perceived by the public.
In France, since the implementation of the Claeys-Leonetti law (voted on February 2, 2016), it is possible to write up your “advance directives at the end of life” to request the end of care in certain very specific situations. To do this, all you have to do is fill out a form or make a handwritten declaration.