CD&V is prepared to enter into the debate about euthanasia among people with dementia. The party says this in response to an appeal from the Flemish liberals. “But it is more than just adding a sentence,” says Els Van Hoof (CD&V) today in De Morgen.
Belgian law only makes euthanasia possible if a person is fully aware and able to request it. Someone with dementia must therefore make a timely decision, and when people with dementia opt for euthanasia, this is often accompanied by a political discussion about extending the euthanasia law.
In itself there is support in the Vivaldi government for such an extension. But during the government talks, CD&V, as the most conservative coalition party, demanded a veto in ethical files. If someone wants to adjust the abortion or euthanasia rules, then unanimity must first be found in the government. Little has moved since then.
Eliminating shortcomings in the law
Robby De Caluwé, Katja Gabriëls and Jean-Jacques De Gucht (Open Vld) now hope, supported by Vooruit, among others, to eliminate the shortcomings in the law. They focus on all brain disorders that can cause people to lose consciousness, such as brain cancers or strokes. If patients have signed an advance directive in advance in which they declare that they will request euthanasia if they become mentally incapacitated, this should be possible.
CD&V chairman Joachim Coens can now hear that his party wants to talk about it. The government must first appoint a scientific committee that submits substantive recommendations for improving the legislation. “Not to stop the discussion, but to add nuance. Because it’s more than just adding a sentence,” says MP Els Van Hoof. “Within a year, those recommendations could be on the table.”
The approach is met with skepticism among those who are pioneers of enlargement. “It seems more like a delaying maneuver than anything else,” says professor Wim Distelmans (VUB).
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