CLINICAL ETHICS

Facing requests for euthanasia: a clinical practice guideline

C Gastmans¹, F Van Neste² and P Schotsmans¹

¹ Centre for Biomedical Ethics and Law, Leuven, Belgium
² University of Antwerp, Belgium

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Professor C Gastmans
Centre for Biomedical Ethics and Law, Faculty of Medicine, Kapucijnenvoer 35, Leuven 3000, Belgium; chris.gastmans{at}med.kuleuven.ac.be

On 23 September 2002, the Belgian law on euthanasia came into force. This makes Belgium the second country in the world (after the Netherlands) to have an Act on euthanasia. Even though there is currently legal regulation of euthanasia in Belgium, very little is known about how this legal regulation could be translated into care for patients who request euthanasia.

Keywords: euthanasia; guidelines; palliative care

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