Euthanasia 'tourists' increasing in Belgium, say doctors
There is an increasing number of euthanasia tourists traveling to Brussels, Belgium for elective medical killings. Patients, including children, from different parts of the world flock to the city's accident and emergency rooms to receive lethal injection which is free for those with a European Union health insurance card.
According to the International Business Times, a total of 2,023 people were euthanized in Belgium in 2015. Seven out of 15 cases involved French nationals, according to Olivier Vermylen, an emergency doctor at Brugmann University Hospital. The situation is similar at the Jules Bordet Institute in Brussels where 40 out of 130 cases are French people.
The cost is one of the primary reasons why people choose to be euthanized in Belgium. Euthanasia in Belgium is free for holders of a European Union's health insurance card. After the procedure, the bill is sent to French healthcare providers. In contrast, euthanasia in Switzerland costs €4,000.
Although Belgium is predominantly Catholic, it has the most liberal euthanasia law in the world and there is an overwhelming support for the right to die. Euthanasia is not limited to terminally ill patients. Chronically depressed patients are also allowed to be euthanized. The practice is overseen by the Euthanasia Control and Evaluation Commission.
Euthanasia was legalized in Belgium in 2002. The law was extended to include children in 2013. Doctors are required to file a report to the commission every time they perform euthanasia. The commission reviews the report and doctors could be charged with homicide if the conditions set by the law are not met.
In Britain, Professor Raphael Cohen-Almagor from the University of Hull is arguing for legalization of euthanasia as a solution to "death-tourism." He told the Daily Mail that this phenomenon occurs because sick people do not have access to a law that will help them pass away peacefully at their own homes.
"There is an increasing realization that the time has come for change. It is time to consider legislating physician-assisted suicide in Britain and in other parts of the liberal world," he said.
