PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - T Meulenbergs
AU  - J Vermylen
AU  - P T Schotsmans
TI  - The current state of clinical ethics and healthcare ethics committees in Belgium
AID  - 10.1136/jme.2003.006924
DP  - 2005 Jun 01
TA  - Journal of Medical Ethics
PG  - 318--321
VI  - 31
IP  - 6
4099  - http://jme.bmj.com/content/31/6/318.short
4100  - http://jme.bmj.com/content/31/6/318.full
SO  - J Med Ethics2005 Jun 01; 31
AB  - Ethics committees are the most important practical instrument of clinical ethics in Belgium and fulfil three tasks: the ethical review of experimental protocols, advising on the ethical aspects of healthcare practice, and ethics consultation. In this article the authors examine the current situation of ethics committees in Belgium from the perspective of clinical ethics. Firstly, the most important steps which thus far have been taken in Belgium are examined. Secondly, recent opinion by the Belgian Advisory Committee on Bioethics with regard to ethics committees is presented and the activities of Belgian ethics committees are discussed. Finally, the option to bring research ethics and clinical ethics under the roof of just one committee is criticised using a pragmatic and a methodological argument. Concomitantly, the authors build an argument in favour of the further development of ethics consultation.