This PBS video gives an insight into the issues and personalities behind Belgium’s euthanasia regime.

This PBS video gives an insight into the issues and personalities behind Belgium’s euthanasia regime. It does not take sides (in the view of bioethics blogger Wesley J. Smith, it is “terminally nonjudgmental”), but it does give some idea of the tangled moral issues.

Some viewers might find the optimism of the co-chair of Belgium’s euthanasia commission, Gilles Genicot, questionable. He defends the fact that not one of the 8,000 case of euthanasia has ever been prosecuted. “I can understand it might sound surprising, but the way our law works is– based on– trust we give to doctors,” he says. “Because they know their patients far better than anyone else.” Outside of Belgium, that is often called paternalism. 

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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