Euthanasie bij dementie middels een voorafgaande wilsverklaring: een reflectie vanuit België en Nederland

Abstract

Advance directives for euthanasia in dementia: a reflection from Belgium and the Netherlands Concerning the current law on euthanasia in Belgium, it is often suggested to enable euthanasia in patients suffering from (severe) dementia by means of an advance directive, largely triggered by the authority principle of the person who initially requested it. The current manuscript reflects on this proposed law extension: it mainly wants to stress the complexity of the issue. It is concluded that advance directives for euthanasia in dementia are not easy to implement in an optimized dementia care pathway.