Euthanasia Legalized in Belgium

The Belgian Parliament has followed the Netherlands’ lead and passed a bill legalizing euthanasia. The lower house of the parliament voted 86-51 in favor of the measure on 5/17/02 after two days of heated arguments. The Senate passed the bill last October.

According to a Belgian news report, the new euthanasia law is "more far-reaching than its Dutch counterpart." "The patient must be in a medically hopeless condition of chronic and unbearable physical or psychological suffering." [expatica.com, 5/17/02] The Belgian law establishes different procedures for terminally-ill patients and patients with incurable illnesses who still have many years to live.


Source: CNN, 5/17/02

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