Woman who died by euthanasia included as victim of Brussels terrorist attack

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

In October 2022 I wrote about the Belgian euthanasia death of Shanti De Corte (23) who was approved for euthanasia after living with PTSD related to a ISIS bombing attack 7 years earlier at the Brussels airport.

I also reported on the controversy surrounding De Corte's euthanasia death after a local neurologist told authorities that the decision to euthanize Shanti De Corte "was made prematurely."

BBC news reported on July 25 that the Belgian terrorist bombers were found guilty in the deaths of 35 people. The BBC article by Paul Kirby states that 32 deaths were immediately related to the bombing and three people who died in the years following the bombings were also considered victims of the attacks. According to Kirby the 35 deaths included:

Shanti De Corte

Shanti De Corte, 23, who suffered years of unbearable psychological illness before she died by euthanasia last year.

Xavier Legrand died of cancer in 2017 after being forced to halt treatment because of the wounds caused by the metro bombing.

Mathieu Fischer took his life in 2021 after suffering years of post-traumatic stress.

A study published in the psychiatric journal Rivista di Psichiatria in November 2022 concluded that:

Belgian legislation provides for euthanasia for patients suffering from mental disorders who, like those suffering from somatic disorders, experience a condition of constant, unbearable and incurable suffering. But the case in question raises numerous perplexities both on the clinical and ethical coherence of Belgian legislation and on the ways in which the rules of this legislation have been observed in this specific situation.

Killing by euthanasia is promoted and approved based on "hard" cases. Once killing becomes an acceptable solution to human suffering, soon there are many more reasons, or types of human suffering, that killing becomes the solution for.

We need a caring society not a society that kills.