Media coverage of Belgium's first criminal case concerning euthanasia for psychiatric patients : a content analysis of Flemish newspapers and magazines

Abstract: BACKGROUND Belgium is one of the few countries worldwide where euthanasia on the grounds of unbearable suffering caused by a psychiatric disorder is legally possible. In April 2010 euthanasia was carried out on a 38-year-old Belgian woman with borderline personality disorder and/or autism. After a complaint by the family, three physicians were referred to the Court of Assizes on the charge of “murder by poisoning”. METHODS A content analysis of print and online news coverage of the euthanasia case in a selected sample of Flemish newspapers and magazines, published between December 1,... Mehr ...