the essential
A woman in her thirties, suffering from incurable cancer, was sedated in Belgium. However, the operation did not go as planned. The doctors had to use a cushion to end the life of the young Belgian.
It’s a story that makes people talk, on the other side of the border, in Belgium. A 36-year-old young woman suffering from incurable cancer was subjected to sedation which went very badly. So much so that her family – her daughter and her companion – are now asking for compensation.
It all starts in December 2021. Alexina, a young woman in her thirties living in Oupeye (Belgium) is diagnosed with incurable cancer.
Health professionals only give him a year to live. The young woman intends to spend the last months of her life with her companion and her daughter, but her state of health is deteriorating very quickly. On March 29, 2022, after consultation with the medical profession, it was agreed to perform sedation.
As our colleagues from RTL info and South Info, the family doctor, assisted by two nurses, is called to the home of the thirties to carry out the operation: “We can perform euthanasia at home, in a nursing home or in a hospital environment, describes Jacques Brotchi, member of the Control and Evaluation Commission on Euthanasia, at the RTL Info. Only a doctor is authorized to perform this gesture.
A complaint lodged
But the sedation doesn’t go as planned. The quantity of products that was injected into the young woman’s body was not sufficient. The caregivers on site had to use a pillow to end Alexina’s life. The prosecution was notified two days before the funeral of the young woman and requested an autopsy. The analyzes have indeed detected traces of suffocation.
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End of life: what are the differences between deep sedation, withdrawal of care, euthanasia, or assisted suicide?
Alexina’s companion and her daughter then decided to file a complaint and bring a civil action against the doctor and the two nurses. “Euthanasia is not a situation with a horrible experience, but it must be done according to the conditions of the law and of course with a skill”, commented for his part Jacques Brotchi. What I just found out today is something I’ve never heard […] for me this is not euthanasia.”
