Dateline: Sept 15

Tonight Dateline features a one hour special looking at euthanasia in Belgium.

Belgium – a country where anyone – even children – can choose to be euthanised. You don’t have to be terminally ill, just deemed as having unbearable suffering by a doctor

In a one-hour Dateline special video journalist Brett Mason comes face-to-face with this controversial law as he films one woman’s journey to end her life.

He follows Simona De Moor, an 85 year old woman who doesn’t take any medication and is considered by doctors to be healthy. She’s disarmingly frank about wanting to die before her next birthday saying she’s been suffering unbearable grief after her daughter died.

“It’s driving me mad and I don’t want to go to a mad house, I want to die.”

Simona’s doctor is Dr Van Hoey. He’s one of the leading advocates of assisted suicide in Belgium. He tells Dateline the overall percentage of cases for psychological suffering has doubled since the law was introduced. Most recent biennial figures show 120 cases were approved.

Among those considering the option, Peter, a married father of two young boys. He suffers cluster headaches. The headaches won’t kill him, but there’s no known cause or cure. He tells Brett euthanasia is the best option for him.

Those against the idea say Belgium’s legislation is encouraging euthanasia unnecessarily. Ethicist Theo Boer used to sit on the Commission that approves euthanasia procedures, but resigned recently: “What I see in Belgium is an unprecedented action in favour of euthanasia by both the review committee and by many politicians.”

Tuesday, 15 September at 9.30pm on SBS.