The British Journal of Psychiatry (2006) 188: 405-409. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.105.010256
© 2006 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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SPECIAL ARTICLES

Euthanasia: the role of the psychiatrist

KRIS NAUDTS, MD

Forensic Psychiatry Teaching Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK

CAROLINE DUCATELLE, MD

Department of Psychiatry, Gent University, Belgium

JOZSEF KOVACS, PhD

Institute of Behavioral Sciences, Semmelweis University Budapest

KRISTIN LAURENS, PhD

Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, UK

FREDERIQUE VAN DEN EYNDE, MD and CORNELIS VAN HEERINGEN, PhD

Department of Psychiatry, Gent University, Belgium

Correspondence: Dr K. Naudts, Department of Forensic Mental Health Science, Institute of Psychiatry, PO Box 23, London SE5 8AF. Tel: ++444(0) 20 7848 0680; fax: ++444(0) 20 7848 0921; e-mail: k.naudts{at}iop.kcl.ac.uk

Declaration of interest None.

Belgium has become one of the few countries in the world where euthanasia islegally allowed within a specific juridical framework. Even more unique is the inclusion of grounds for requesting euthanasia on the basis of mental suffering. Further refinement of the legal, medical and psychiatric approach to the issue is required in order to clear up essential practical and ethical matters. Psychiatrists and their professional organisations need to play a greater role in this ongoing debate and contribute from a clinical, scientific and ethical point of view.


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