Criminal Case Spurs a Rethink of Euthanasia for Mental Illness

February 20, 2019

(Medscape) – The recent launch of a criminal investigation into a case of medically assisted death for psychiatric illness in Belgium is shining a spotlight on growing concerns — even among supporters — about the controversial practice. The charges, which are reportedly the first criminal investigation of medically assisted euthanasia in that country since it was legalized in 2002, are related to the 2010 death of a 38-year-old woman with Asperger syndrome, a mild form of autism.