By 2050, the number of people aged over 80 will double from around 640,000 today to 1.2 million. This will increase financial pressure on health care, medications and residential care centers.
Luc Van Gorp believes that it is not enough to increase financial resources to deal with this aging and recommends “a radically different approach”. “Doctors and other health professionals today are striving to make sure everyone lives longer, but to what end? Living longer is not an end in itself, is it? ?First of all, we should ask ourselves the following question: how long can I live a quality life?
He recalls that there are already strict rules for euthanasia defined by law. “It works well for people who are suffering unbearably. But there should also be a gentler form, for people who feel their life is over. I know it’s a sensitive subject, but we should dare to have this debate.
