SW News: New statistics show that 2.966 Belgians died by euthanasia in 2022. That is almost 10 percent more than in 2021. According to a press statement from the Belgian government, there has been a general trend toward more euthanasia deaths.
The share of reported deaths from euthanasia in 2022 was 2.5% compared to 2.4% in 2021 of all deaths in the country. Nonetheless, the vast majority of about 70% of the requests were made in Dutch Everything else was in French.
The majority of those asking for euthanasia are older than 60 and the group was made up of seniors, ranging from 80 to 89 in age. The number of foreigners coming to Belgium to request euthanasia has also risen. French people especially find their way to their neighboring country to end their lives. The law in Belgium does not stipulate that the person receiving euthanasia must be a citizen of Belgium.
The number of euthanasias performed at home decreased slightly in 2022 (50.5%) while the number of euthanasias performed in residential care centres continued to rise (16.4%). The number of euthanasias performed in hospitals and palliative units remained stable (31.8%).
Neoplasms/cancer (59.9%), a combination of various chronic and incurable diseases (19.6%), diseases of the nervous system (8.9%), circulatory diseases (3.7%), respiratory diseases (3%), cognitive impairment (1.4%), psychiatric disorders (0.9%), digestive system diseases (0.5%), and diseases of the bone-musculoskeletal and connective tissue (0.5%) were the main causes of the euthanasias. The remaining groups account for 1.6% of diseases. Patients with oncological diseases make up the largest patient population. This is mostly related to cancers of the genitalia, respiratory system, chest, and digestive system.
In the majority of patients (72.4%), both physical and psychological suffering was observed This suffering was the result of one or more serious and incurable conditions. However, it is striking that only physical suffering is mentioned more often than in other years. It is 25.4% in 2022 compared to 17.9% in 2021.