French singer Nicole Croisille applied for euthanasia in Belgium before her death, though that did not go ahead. She is one of many foreign euthanasia patients who hope to benefit from Belgium’s euthanasia legislation. Wim Distelmans, chair of the Euthanasia Commission, speaks of about 120 people in 2024, but calls that the tip of the iceberg. ‘Moreover, a lot of foreigners do not make it to Belgium because they are in such a bad state.’
French singer Nicole Croisille died of cancer on 4 June. The 88-year-old woman died a natural death when she had intended otherwise, according to a posthumous interview in French magazine Elle.
Incurably ill, she said she preferred euthanasia. As there is no legislation providing for euthanasia in France, she travelled to Belgium and hoped to experience euthanasia at Namur University Hospital. It would never happen.
Instead, she was rushed to a hospital in Paris and given 3 days of palliative sedation that put her to sleep until she died ‘spontaneously’. While it could have been otherwise.
At least 120 foreigners applied for euthanasia in Belgium last year
"In France, palliative sedation is the only option. There is no way you can legally end your life under medical supervision," Wim Distelmans, professor of palliative medicine at Brussels VUB University and chair of the Euthanasia Commission explains.
‘Debate is ongoing, but only in the form in which the patient has to take the drug themselves and no doctor is involved.’
Not only French people come knocking on Belgium's door for euthanasia, but there are also patients from other countries in Europe as well as from the US and Canada, Prof Distelmans says. ‘Last year we were talking about at least 120 people from abroad, most of them from France.’
This is an underestimate, as until recently it was not compulsory to register the place of residence of a euthanasia patient.
Not euthanasia tourism
Still, euthanasia tourism is not the right term to describe the phenomenon, Prof Distelmans thinks. He makes the comparison with abortion tourism. "At that time this was about young, fit women who can easily travel. Euthanasia patients, on the other hand, are often so weak that they cannot make it to Belgium on the agreed date."
So these 120 are just the tip of the iceberg. "Especially because in Belgium, in practice, we can only accept people who are physically suffering. Indeed, for people with a psychiatric condition, it quickly takes a year - full of consultations - before someone is given the green light. We can hardly ask foreigners to stay at a hotel in Belgium for a year."
Moreover, it is not always easy for Belgian nationals themselves to get euthanasia. "A number of doctors decide not to proceed in the process, so patients are passed on to 'LEIF doctors', i.e. doctors especially trained in the issue of euthanasia. They are therefore overloaded, making it even more difficult for foreigners to get euthanasia."
It would be better if countries approved euthanasia legislation themselves. It’s something a lot of French doctors are in favour of, moreover. "But it is religion that blocks the law," Croisille points out in Elle.
"You cannot do what you want with your life: God gave it to you; God will take it away from you. But if you want so much for people to live, let them also die."