The Netherlands last year became the first country in the world to decriminalise voluntary euthanasia but other EU states are considering similar legislation. Under the Dutch law, a doctor will not be prosecuted for ending a patient's life if he or she is convinced that the patient's request is voluntary and that the alternative to death is "unremitting and unbearable" suffering.
The doctor must have reached the firm conclusion that there is no reasonable alternative to euthanasia. And at least one other, independent physician must have examined the patient and reached the same conclusion.
The law, which was passed last April, has had little effect on medical practice in the Netherlands, where euthanasia has been tolerated for more than 20 years. Since 1994, doctors have been legally obliged to report all cases of euthanasia to the authorities. But doctors were not prosecuted if they adhered to certain guidelines. If they breached the guidelines, they could face a prison sentence of up to 12 years.
Belgium could be next to legalise assisted suicide, after the Senate last October approved a government-backed Bill that was opposed by Catholic groups.
Under the Belgian Bill, which still has to be approved by the lower house of parliament, euthanasia can be practised by doctors only on patients who have reached the legal adult age of 18 and at their specific and voluntary request. The person must be conscious and must repeat their demand. Anyone wishing to exercise the right to die must also make a written declaration although, if the patient is not capable of doing so, that task can be delegated to another adult of their choice.
People suffering from a long-term, incurable disease which is not in a terminal phase are also covered. In such cases, the advice of three doctors must be sought and at least one month must pass between the written request and the act being carried out.
Every case must be filed at a special commission which would be responsible for ensuring that doctors obeyed the law.
Researchers from universities in Brussels and Ghent found last year that up to one in 20 deaths in Belgium are due to euthanasia or the administration of drugs to hasten death. In many such cases, the patient did not explicitly request that his or her life should be ended.
The issue of assisted suicide has moved up the political agenda in Europe as more patients demand a say in their medical treatment. Another reason is that people are living longer as new drugs allow patients to survive for years while suffering from debilitating illnesses.
The EU has no policy on euthanasia but the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg announced this month that it will hear an appeal by Ms Dianne Pretty, a 43-year-old woman who wants permission to commit suicide with the help of her husband. British Law Lords have rejected a case taken by Ms Pretty, aimed at making her husband immune from prosecution after her death.
Although moves to liberalise euthanasia laws have overwhelming popular support in Belgium and the Netherlands, opposition to assisted suicide is strong elsewhere in Europe.
This is especially the case in Germany, where the memory of Hitler's use of euthanasia to murder the physically and mentally weak has made the issue something of a taboo.
