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Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
Belgium: Bioethics Advisory Committee in favour of extending advance euthanasia declarations to persons who have become incapable of deciding for themselves
In an opinion issued on 10 November 2025, Belgium's Bioethics Advisory Committee unanimously recommended amending the law on euthanasia to extend the scope of advance euthanasia declarations. The Committee proposed that euthanasia based on an advance declaration could be performed on persons who are conscious but whose ability to decide for...
Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
What suicide prevention policy should be adopted in a country that allows euthanasia for depression?
The recent death by euthanasia of Siska, a 26-year-old woman suffering from depression, has reignited the debate on mental health care in Belgium, but also on the consistency between access to euthanasia for mental...
Abortion
ECHR condemns Poland: delayed publication of a ruling restricting access to abortion undermined legal certainty
In a judgment handed down on 13 November 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) condemned Poland for violating the right of respect for private and family life of the applicant, a Polish national who travelled...
Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
Slovenia backtracks on assisted suicide: what arguments won the day in the referendum?
On 23 November, the Slovenian people voted to repeal the law legalising assisted suicide, which had been passed by Parliament a few months earlier.
Passed on 18 July 2025 by the majority of MPs, this law opened the way...
Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
“Death with dignity” bill in Uruguay: euthanasia could be ob-tained in just a few days
Uruguay would become the first country in Latin America to legally decriminalize euthanasia if the bill approved by the House of Representatives on August 13, 2025, is passed by the Senate.
Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
Euthanasia and assisted suicide: what does really distinguish these two practices of planned death?
Several European countries (particularly France and the United Kingdom) are currently considering the legalization of certain forms of “assisted death.” Slovenia has just authorized assisted suicide, while excluding the...
Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
Euthanasia - Do the UN's criticisms of the French bill also apply to Belgium?
On 10 September, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) presented its conclusions on the French bill on the ‘right to assistance in dying’.
This procedure – particularly rare for the CRPD –...
Surrogacy
Constitutional reform in Slovakia: ban on surrogacy and reaffirmation of national sovereignty in bioethics
On 26 September, the National Council of the Republic adopted a series of amendments to the Slovak Constitution, including several changes aimed at strengthening national sovereignty on various issues, including...
In the spotlight
All the newsNews
Extending euthanasia to include mental health conditions: will Canada have a change of heart?
Genetic modification of human embryos: a gateway to eugenics?
France: Will the government force through the euthanasia bill?
Bereavement leave in the event of euthanasia: will it be possible to change one’s mind?
Belgium – Proposed liberalisation of abortion laws: 12, 14 or 18 weeks – a scientific question or an ethical choice?
Belgium: care for people with disabilities under scrutiny from the UN
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