In 2002 with the passing of the Euthanasia Law, Belgium became one of the few countries worldwide to legalize euthanasia. In the 18 years since the passing of the law, much has changed. We argue that in Belgium a widening of the use of euthanasia is occurring and that this can be ethically and legally problematic. This is in part related to the fact that several legal requirements intended to operate as safeguards and procedural guarantees in reality often fail to operate as such. We focus on three kinds of safeguards or procedural guarantees: (1) the legally defined due care criteria for eligibility for euthanasia; (2) the consultation of a second (and sometimes third) physician; and (3) the reporting of euthanasia cases to the Federal Control and Evaluation Commission for Euthanasia. We will show how each of these three safeguards can exhibit shortcomings in theory and practice.

中文翻译：

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比利时的安乐死：法律及其适用和实践监督的缺陷

2002年，随着安乐死法的通过，比利时成为世界上少数几个将安乐死合法化的国家之一。在法律通过后的 18 年里，发生了很大的变化。我们认为，在比利时，安乐死的使用范围正在扩大，这在道德和法律上可能存在问题。这在一定程度上与以下事实有关：旨在作为保障措施和程序保障的若干法律要求在现实中往往无法发挥作用。我们关注三种保障或程序保障：（1）法律规定的安乐死资格的应有注意标准；(2) 咨询第二位（有时是第三位）医生；(3) 向联邦安乐死控制和评估委员会报告安乐死案例。