Expand Belgian euthanasia laws to prevent social care crisis, says insurance boss

Apr 19, 2024 by Jill

by Bruno Waterfield, The Times:

Euthanising elderly people who feel like a ‘burden’ on society would remove the stigma and free up resources, Luc Van Gorp said.

Belgium’s euthanasia laws should cover elderly people who are “tired of life” or who feel they are a burden on the public purse, a health insurance chief has urged.

Luc Van Gorp, 57, the president of the CM health fund, a Christian mutual insurance provider, said that the number of Belgians over 80 would double to 1.2 million by 2050.

“Many elderly people are tired of life. Why would you necessarily want to prolong such a life? Those people don’t want that themselves, and when it comes to budgets: it only costs the government money,” he told the Nieuwsblad newspaper. “We must remove the stigma.”

Belgium already has “liberal” legislation on euthanasia, which is usually administered by lethal injection. Patients need to claim “unbearable suffering”, including mental illness, to qualify.

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