Main description:

Examining the evidence from Belgium – one of only five countries where euthanasia is practised legally – an international panel of experts considers the implications of legalised euthanasia and assisted suicide. Looking at the issue from an international perspective, the authors have written an invaluable in-depth analysis of the ethical aspects of this complex area. The discussion forms a solid foundation for informed debate about assisted dying. With contributors from a broad range of disciplines, this book is ideal for students, academics, legislators and anyone interested in legal, medical, social and philosophical ethics. A vital and timely examination of a growing phenomenon and one of the most challenging ethical questions of our time.

Contents:

Introduction; Part I. Euthanasia Legislation in Belgium and its Applications: 1. A discussion of the legal rules on euthanasia in Belgium briefly compared with the rules in Luxembourg and the Netherlands Herman Nys; 2. The Belgian experience of euthanasia since its legal implementation in 2002 Etienne Montero; 3. Ethics and the psychiatric dimensions of physician assisted suicide: a view from the United States Daniel P. Sulmasy; Part ll. Euthanasia and End of Life Care: 4. Assisted dying – the current situation in Flanders: euthanasia embedded in palliative care Paul Vanden Berghe, Arsène Mullie, Marc Desmet and Gert Huysmans; PostScript: death as disruption or disruptive dying? Some further reflections since 2013 'Assisted dying – the current situation in Flanders: euthanasia embedded in palliative care' Paul Vanden Berghe, Marc Desmet and Gert Huysmans; 5. The practice of continuous sedation at the end of life in Belgium: how does it compare to UK practice, and is it being used as a form of euthanasia? Sigrid Sterckx and Kasper Rau; 6. 2002–2016: fourteen years of euthanasia in Belgium: first-line observations by an oncologist Benoit Beuselinck; 7. 'A last act of grace'? Organ donation and euthanasia in Belgium Trevor Stammers; Part lll. Euthanasia and Particular Vulnerable Groups: 8. A life worth living? Disabled people and euthanasia in Belgium Kevin Fitzpatrick and David Albert Jones; 9. Euthanasia in patients with intolerable suffering due to an irremediable psychiatric illness: a psychiatric perspective Joris Vandenberghe; 10. Euthanasia in children: keep asking the right questions Stefaan Van Gool and Jan De Lepeleire; 11. Euthanizing people who are 'tired of life' Raphael Cohen-Almagor; 12. Euthanasia in persons with severe dementia Chris Gastmans; Part lV. Euthanasia in Belgium: A Philosophical and Bioethical Discussion: 13. Some possible consequences arising from the normalisation of euthanasia in Belgium Calum MacKellar; 14. Euthanasia and assisted suicide in Belgium: bringing an end to interminable discussion David Albert Jones; 15. Psychiatric patients and the culture of euthanasia in Belgium Willem Lemmens; Final conclusions on final solutions David Albert Jones, Chris Gastmans and Calum MacKellar.