Amendments to the Belgian Law on Euthanasia: Implications for Practitioners and Euthanasia Practice

What is it about?

Belgium has had a law allowing euthanasia since 2002. In 2024, this law was changed in three main ways. First, the registration form that doctors must submit for review after providing euthanasia was changed. The change means that the name of the patient and the doctor can now be seen during this review (before the change it was usually kept anonymous). Second, the law now states what punishment applies if a doctor breaks a rule contained in the law. Third, the law now protects doctors and psychologists who have a role in the process as an independent advisor. Two of these changes were driven by court decisions which said that the law needed to change. This article explains the changes and the court decisions which drove them and explains what these changes might mean for doctors who provide euthanasia in Belgium. We conclude that these changes were important for fixing the problems identified the courts, and they might also have some positive impacts on euthanasia practice, such as making doctors more likely to follow the rules contained in the law. However, these changes might have some negative impacts on practice, such as making doctors less likely to be involved in euthanasia. It is important that the impact of legal changes on practice is explored, both before and after the changes are made. This is especially important when the changes are made to parts of the law that were seen as important when it was originally passed.

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