Euthanasia for detainees in Belgium
In 2011, Frank Van Den Bleeken became the first detainee to request euthanasia under Belgium's Euthanasia Act of 2002. This article investigates whether it would be lawful and morally permissible for a doctor to accede to this request. Though Van Den Bleeken has not been held accountable for th...
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| Format: | Journal article |
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Cambridge University Press
2016
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| _version_ | 1797083434515955712 |
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| author | Devolder, K |
| author_facet | Devolder, K |
| author_sort | Devolder, K |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | In 2011, Frank Van Den Bleeken became the first detainee to request euthanasia under Belgium's Euthanasia Act of 2002. This article investigates whether it would be lawful and morally permissible for a doctor to accede to this request. Though Van Den Bleeken has not been held accountable for the crimes he committed, he has been detained in an ordinary prison, without appropriate psychiatric care, for more than 30 years. It is first established that Van Den Bleeken's euthanasia request plausibly meets the relevant conditions of the Euthanasia Act and that, consequently, a doctor could lawfully fulfill it. Next, it is argued that autonomy-based reasons for euthanizing him outweigh complicity-based reasons against doing so, and that, therefore, it is also morally permissible for a doctor to carry out the euthanasia request. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T01:41:46Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:971cc77c-5ad4-4d54-84ac-0d2d046ed765 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T01:41:46Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:971cc77c-5ad4-4d54-84ac-0d2d046ed7652022-03-26T23:57:15ZEuthanasia for detainees in BelgiumJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:971cc77c-5ad4-4d54-84ac-0d2d046ed765Symplectic Elements at OxfordCambridge University Press2016Devolder, KIn 2011, Frank Van Den Bleeken became the first detainee to request euthanasia under Belgium's Euthanasia Act of 2002. This article investigates whether it would be lawful and morally permissible for a doctor to accede to this request. Though Van Den Bleeken has not been held accountable for the crimes he committed, he has been detained in an ordinary prison, without appropriate psychiatric care, for more than 30 years. It is first established that Van Den Bleeken's euthanasia request plausibly meets the relevant conditions of the Euthanasia Act and that, consequently, a doctor could lawfully fulfill it. Next, it is argued that autonomy-based reasons for euthanizing him outweigh complicity-based reasons against doing so, and that, therefore, it is also morally permissible for a doctor to carry out the euthanasia request. |
| spellingShingle | Devolder, K Euthanasia for detainees in Belgium |
| title | Euthanasia for detainees in Belgium |
| title_full | Euthanasia for detainees in Belgium |
| title_fullStr | Euthanasia for detainees in Belgium |
| title_full_unstemmed | Euthanasia for detainees in Belgium |
| title_short | Euthanasia for detainees in Belgium |
| title_sort | euthanasia for detainees in belgium |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT devolderk euthanasiafordetaineesinbelgium |