Euthanasia and assisted suicide - Comparative and reflexive vision between Belgium and Switzerland

This article is issued from a reflective approach developed from a case observed during the internship of Dr Van Nieuwenhove in the neuro-resuscitation department of the intensive care unit of the Geneva University Hospitals (Switzerland) in July 2018. This article sought to analyse the similarities and differences between two major attitudes towards assisted deaths, namely euthanasia in Belgium and assisted suicide in Switzerland. The relevant legislations and ethical considerations are presented with the value at stake in these particular end-of-life management. The whole reflective process discussed here is based on the assumption that the patient has made the request to die or had requested the end of his suffering. The reflections and questions are therefore only simple speculations allowing to open a discussion.