Cases of euthanasia in Belgium have reached one more record high, with 3,991 people opting to finish their life in this manner within the country.
The variety of cases has risen almost every 12 months, since legalisation of the practice in 2002.
Euthanasia now accounts for 3.6% of all deaths in Belgium.
The overwhelming majority of those undergoing the procedure were aged 70 and over, with over half suffering some type of cancer. Nearly half (43%) of those opting to finish their very own lives were 80 years old or over.
Belgium also permits minors to undergo assisted suicide, although this stays a rarity. Last 12 months one minor was euthanised, bringing the whole variety of minors killed on this strategy to six. The law permitting euthanasia was prolonged to minors in 2014.
More than three quarters of those undergoing euthanasia were terminally unwell. More than 80% said that physical and psychological suffering were a cause for his or her decision, with the remainder experiencing only physical pain or, very rarely, just psychological suffering.
Less than 1% of those killed via euthanasia were from abroad. Of the 120 foreigners who underwent the method last 12 months, nearly all were French or Belgians living abroad. There were nonetheless also two people each from the Netherlands and Germany, and one person each from Spain, Hungary, Portugal and England.
2024 was the primary 12 months for which statistics were kept for foreigners being euthanised. As such it’s difficult to get a transparent picture of the trend on this area, nonetheless some experts imagine that the numbers are increasing.
According to the Belga News Agency, Wims Distelmans, a professor of palliative care on the Federal Control and Evaluation Commission on Euthanasia (FCCE), said that the variety of patients coming to Belgium for euthanasia from abroad is “progressively increasing”.
The British Parliament is currently considering liberalising the law on assisted dying. Critics of the proposed bill are concerned that there should not enough safeguards to guard seriously unwell or vulnerable people from being pressured into ending their very own lives.
