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Belgium speaks about allowing euthanasia in cases of dementia

The Belgian Christian Democratic party CD&V party is set to have a debate on allowing euthanasia for people with dementia. The move comes as a response to a proposal on the issue led by the Flemish liberals, De Morgen reported.

The law now allows euthanasia if a person is fully aware and able to request it. But for dementia patients, the longer they have the disease, their window of time lessens. NoĆ«lle Dendas, a patient with Alzheimerā€™s, told De Morgen in September 2021 why she chose euthanasia early. ā€œEither you have to die too early, or you are too late and you canā€™t die anymore,ā€ she said.

ā€œOn May 28, the euthanasia law turns twenty. It is high time to eliminate the shortcomings in the lawā€, said Flemish liberals from Open VlD Robby De CaluwĆ©, Katja GabriĆ«ls and Jean-Jacques De Gucht. They argue that patients should be allowed to sign a directive in advance to request euthanasia in case they become mentally incapacitated.

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