Assisted dying in Belgium
Belgium has one of the world’s most established and liberal laws on assisted dying, being the second country to legalize the practice and the first to remove age restrictions for minors.
- Where the law stands
- Legal
- Since
- 2002
- Who can ask
- Adults; minors with safeguards
- Condition
- Physical or Mental
- Residency
- None in law; Belgian doctor needed
What you need to know.
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Legal Status: Legal
The practice is governed by the Act on Euthanasia of May 28, 2002, which decriminalised assisted dying under strict conditions.
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Key Legislation
The Belgian Act on Euthanasia (2002), amended in 2014 to extend the right to minors with the capacity of discernment.
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Eligibility
Access is available to adults and emancipated minors with a serious and incurable condition causing unbearable suffering. Since 2014 other minors can also qualify, with no lower age limit, if they are terminally ill, in constant and unbearable physical suffering, have the capacity of discernment, and their parents consent.
Summary
Belgium is a global reference point for end of life rights. Legalized just months after the Netherlands in 2002, the Belgian law treats assisted dying as a medical act that is legally permitted when performed by a doctor under specific conditions of suffering and hopelessness. Every person in Belgium has the right to refuse treatment. Palliative care and palliative sedation are also seen as good medical practice in Belgium.
The system is widely integrated into the national healthcare framework and enjoys broad public support. Unlike the “Oregon model” (assisted dying only), the vast majority of cases in Belgium are by medical administration. The law is notable for its inclusivity, allowing for advance directives (for irreversible coma) and for minors of any age who are terminally ill.
Quick Overview
Assisted dying, unlike in the Netherlands, is not mentioned as such in the Belgian Penal Code. However, such deaths can be classified as crimes and are in first instance punishable. Since 2002, these acts are allowed by law when they are performed by a doctor who fulfils the requirements of the law. In Belgium, medical assisted dying is also applicable for minors, although extra requirements must be met in such a situation.
Belgium’s approach is characterized by its emphasis on the patient’s subjective suffering and the doctor-patient relationship. The procedure is overseen by the Federal Control and Evaluation Commission on Euthanasia (FCEE), which reviews every reported case after the death to ensure legal criteria were met.
Today, the country offers a fully regulated framework for both medical assisted and voluntary assisted dying. This comprehensive care is integrated into the national public health system and is available to anyone who meets the medical and legal criteria. The law sets no nationality or residency condition for a current request, but the request must be made through a doctor practising in Belgium, with repeated consultations, so access for people living abroad is difficult and uncertain in practice. An advance declaration can only be registered by someone domiciled in Belgium.
How the law came about.
Belgium has consistently been at the forefront of expanding end of life liberties.
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2002
The 2002 Law
Passed after intense societal debate, the 2002 Act decriminalized assisted dying for adults. It established that doctors are not criminally liable if they follow the due care criteria.
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2014
The 2014 Amendment (Minors)
In a historic move, Belgium became the first country to lift the age limit entirely. The 2014 amendment allows minors to request an assisted death if they are terminally ill, in constant physical pain, and possess the “capacity of discernment” (verified by a psychologist). Parental consent is mandatory. Since 2014, only six minors have used this provision (as of 2024).
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2020
Advance Directives
Citizens can register a “living will” that is valid indefinitely (since 2020), requesting assistance if they fall into an irreversible coma.
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Today
Psychiatric Suffering and Polypathologies
While legal, assistance for solely psychiatric conditions remains rare (approx. 1.4% of cases) and involves strict additional safeguards.
A growing number of elderly patients access an assisted death, not for a single terminal disease, but for “polypathology” (a combination of serious, incurable conditions like blindness, deafness and immobility) that together cause unbearable suffering.
Who is Eligible?
Eligibility is broad but strictly regulated by medical criteria:
- Residency: There is no residency requirement in the text of the law, meaning foreign patients can theoretically access it. However, finding a Belgian doctor willing to assist a non-resident without a long-term therapeutic relationship is difficult.
- Adults: Full access.
- Minors: Must be terminally ill (death expected in short term), suffering constant physical pain (psychological suffering alone is excluded for minors), and have parental consent.
- Condition:
- Serious and incurable disorder caused by illness or accident.
- Unbearable suffering (physical or mental) that cannot be alleviated.
- Process:
- Voluntary Request: Must be written, repeated, and free from external pressure.
- Consultation: The treating physician must consult at least one independent doctor (or two if the patient is not expected to die in the near future) regarding the medical condition.
- Waiting Period: If death is not expected in the near future, a one-month waiting period applies.
Our members in Belgium.
Member societies of the World Federation working for the right to die in Belgium.
More country profiles
- Austria Legal
- France Legal
- Germany Legal (Ruling)
- Ireland Illegal (no active bill)
- Italy Decriminalised (Court Ruling)
- Netherlands Legal
- Norway Illegal
- Portugal Legal (In Limbo)
- Spain Legal
- Switzerland Decriminalized
- United Kingdom Illegal (no active bill)
- Australia Legal
- Canada Legal (Federal)
- Colombia Decriminalized
- Cuba Decriminalised (regulations pending)
- Ecuador Decriminalized
- New Zealand Legal
- United States Legal (State Level)
- Uruguay Legal