Belgium

BELGIUM
109 pts
Total Points out of 100

109 pts

SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL JOURNAL ARTICLES

Scientific and technical journal articles refer to the number of scientific and engineering articles published in the following fields: physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, clinical medicine, biomedical research, engineering and technology, and earth and space sciences.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EXPENDITURE

Expenditures for research and development are current and capital expenditures (both public and private) on creative work undertaken systematically to increase knowledge, including knowledge of humanity, culture, and society, and the use of knowledge for new applications. R&D covers basic research, applied research, and experimental development

TRADEMARK APPLICATIONS, DIRECT RESIDENT

Trademark applications filed are applications to register a trademark with a national or regional Intellectual Property (IP) office. A trademark is a distinctive sign which identifies certain goods or services as those produced or provided by a specific person or enterprise

Overview

Voluntary euthanasia is lawful since 2002 when Belgium decriminalized it under well-defined conditions. These conditions include a voluntary, carefully considered, and repeated request from a patient with unbearable suffering that cannot be alleviated and that results from a serious and incurable disorder. The physician must comprehensively discuss the palliative care options with the patient, who needs to consult another physician before the decision on euthanasia can be taken. Id death is not imminent, the physician must consult two independent physicians instead of just one, and there must be at least 1 month between the patient’s explicit request for euthanasia and the performance. Euthanasia can also be performed on unconscious patients if an advance directive in writing was singed when competent. All Belgian patients enjoy free access to painkilling medication. Belgians seem to have taken full advantage of the decriminalization of euthanasia as shown by the fact that the deaths by euthanasia doubled between 2002 and 2007. Several cases of euthanasia were profiled in the international press: the euthanasia of Belgian Nobel laureate Christian de Duve, of 45-year-old deaf twins who were going blind, and of an elderly couple who received euthanasia on the same day. Since 2013, minors have greater access to euthanasia. A bill approved by the Senate on December 12, 2013 and enacted by the Chamber of Representatives on February 13, 2014 has eliminated any reference to age limits thus extending the application of the 2002 law to children. Children must possess sufficient capacity for discernment cannot access euthanasia, which must be assessed carefully by a multidisciplinary pediatric team, and parents must agree to the request. Children with altered consciousness, intellectual disability, young children, and neonates cannot request euthanasia. Finally, the new law unambiguously excludes requests made by proxies on behalf of a child. With regard to assisted reproduction, Belgian law is very liberal even if reproductive cloning, the creation of embryos for research purposes, non-medical sex selection or treatment for eugenic purposes, and the creation of chimeras or hybrid embryos are prohibited. Belgium’s openness is evidenced by the fact that patients from over European countries often travel to Belgium to receive treatment (primarily to evade legal restrictions in one’s home country, as demonstrated by Pennings et al. 2009). Up to 6 cycles of ART for women under the age of 42 are covered by the national health plan. Women over 42 years are ineligible for coverage. This coverage comes with strict limits on the number of embryos transferred per cycle, limiting the number of embryos transferred to a maximum of 2 for women under the age of 36 and a maximum of three for women under the age of 40. Homosexual couples and single women can access ART. The derivation of new hESC lines from supernumerary IVF embryos and SCNT are permitted. Creating embryos for research is forbidden unless research goal cannot be achieved by research using supernumerary embryos. Creating chimaera or hybrids is prohibited. Emergency contraceptives are sold without prescriptions in pharmacies, hospitals, and family clinics. The cost is fully reimbursed to the patient when it is sold with a prescription. Regular contraceptives are subsidized. FURTHER READINGS: Rurup, Mette L, Tinne Smets, Joachim Cohen, Johan Bilsen, Bregje D Onwuteaka-Philipsen, and Luc Deliens. “The first five years of euthanasia legislation in Belgium and the Netherlands: Description and comparison of cases.” Palliative Medicine 26, no. 1 (January 1, 2012 2012): 43-49. Pennings, G., C. Autin, W. Decleer, A. Delbaere, L. Delbeke, A. Delvigne, D. De Neubourg, et al. “Cross-border reproductive care in Belgium.” Human Reproduction 24, no. 12 (December 1, 2009 2009): 3108-3118 http://www.ec-ec.org/emergency-contraception-in-europe/country-by-country-information-2/belgium/ http://srhr.org/abortion-policies/country/belgium/
Aabortion

Abortion

93 pts out of 100 / 100,00% complete

93 pts

Abortion and contraception allow women to express their freedom of reproduction by exercising their right of self-determination over their bodies.

Measurement questions

Is abortion lawful to protect woman's life?

Yes

Is abortion lawful to protect woman's physical health?

Yes

Is abortion lawful to protect woman's mental health?

Yes

Is abortion lawful in the event the woman was raped?

Yes

Is abortion lawful in the event of fetal defects?

Yes

Does the law mandate that an abortion is performed at the mere request of a pregnant woman?

Yes

Is RU-486 (Mifepristone) approved or registered for use?

Yes and it is available with prescription

Are emergency contraception drugs lawfully available?

Yes, from a pharmacist without requiring a prescription

Are family planning services provided through government-run programs and facilities?

Yes, directly

Is spousal notification/permission required?

No

Assisted reproduction

Assisted Reproduction

85 pts out of 100 / 100,00% complete

85 pts

Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) are the methods used to achieve pregnancy by artificial or partially artificial means. Access to assisted reproduction concerns our ability to expand our right to health by offering us access to treatment to overcome infertility.

Measurement questions

Is preimplantation genetic diagnosis permissible?

Yes with no restrictions

Is oocyte cryopreservation permissible?

Yes

Is embryo cryopreservation permissible for reproductive purposes?

Yes

Is sperm donation permissible?

Yes

Is oocyte donation permissible?

Yes

Are IVF surrogacy agreements enforceable?

Not mentioned and status unknown

Marital status requirements?

No

Do same-sex couples have access to ART?

Yes

Do single women have access to ART?

Yes

Are there any limits on the number of pre-embryos that can be transferred?

Yes

End Off Life

End of life

100 pts out of 100 / 100,00% complete

100 pts

End of life decisions concern our ability to make choices concerning the end of our lives and take of the form of refusal of life sustaining treatment, being help in committing suicide, choosing euthanasia, and make choices that must be upheld even when the person becomes unconscious. As Young (2010) noted, "People have an interest in making important decisions about their lives in accordance with their own conception of how they want their lives to go."

Measurement questions

Is passive euthanasia lawful?

Yes

Is active euthanasia lawful?

Yes

Is physician-assisted suicide lawful?

Yes

Are advance directives (AD) enforceable?

Yes

Is a physician required to respect a patient's refusal of life-sustaining treatment?

Yes

Research With Embryo

Research with embryos

100 pts out of 100 / 100,00% complete

100 pts

Research with embryos and pre-embryos as well as therapeutic cloning concerns scientists’ freedom to investigate human biology as well as patients’ freedom to access regenerative medicine treatments that may be developed as a result of research with human embryonic stem cells. Since the early 2000s, research with embryos has been at the center of an often-polarized debate about the nature and scope of scientific freedom.

Measurement questions

Is basic research using germline modification in human embryos/gametes permitted?

Yes

Is pre-clinical research using germline modification technologies in animals permitted?

Yes

Is clinical research using germline modification technologies in humans permitted?

Yes

Are clinical applications of research using germline modification technologies (i.e., to initiate a pregnancy with edited embryos or with edited gametes) permitted?

Yes

GM Crops

GM Crops

60 pts out of 100 / 100,00% complete

60 pts

GM crops have contributed significantly to modern agriculture. Plant breeding using genetic modification techniques has led to improving crops in more targeted ways than classical breeding techniques. GM crops acquire desirable characteristics, including pest and herbicide resistance, enhanced robustness against diseases, drought or water tolerance, and healthier profiles that can enhance nutrition.

Measurement questions

Is research on GMOs permitted in the laboratories?

Yes

Is notification to start research on GMOs in laboratories required?

Yes

Is research on GMOs frequent?

Yes

Are GM crop field trials (the limited release into the environment for research purposes) permitted?

Yes

Is authorization to start a GM crop field trial required?

Yes/prohibited

Are GM crop field trials frequent?

Yes

Is cultivation of GM crops (for commercial purposes) in open field permitted?

No

Is authorization to start open field cultivation of GM crops required?

Yes/prohibited

Is open field cultivation of GM crops frequent?

No/prohibited

Can GM crop commodities harvested in other countries be imported?

Yes

Is authorization to import GM crop commodities required?

Yes/prohibited

Is the import of GM crop commoties frequent?

Yes

Right To Science Indicators

Right To Science Indicators

Measurement questions

- Access to benefits

What is the total general government expenditure on education?

11.96

What is the expenditure on tertiary as % of government expenditure on education?

22.05

What is the the percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed a doctoral degree or equivalent?

0.59

What is the percentage of population that uses the Internet?

86.52

What is the quality of math and science education on a scale from 1 to 7 being "excellent"?

5.6

To what extent is the Internet used in schools for learning purposes?

4.9

What is the scientific literacy of 15-year-old students as measured by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)(mean score)?

502

- Opportunities to participate

Does the law mandate nondiscrimination based on gender in hiring?

Yes

What is the percentage of females employed with advanced degrees out of total employed?

68.8

- Enabling environment

How many scientific and technical journal articles are published each year in physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, clinical medicine, biomedical research, engineering and technology, and earth and space sciences?

16393.7

What is the percentage of GDP allocated to Research and Development?

2.46

How may published articles have received at least H citations in the period 1996–2014?

52.7

What is the quality of scientific research institutions?

5.8

To what extent do business and universities collaborate on research and development (R&D)?

5.3

What is the average university ranking score of countries based on their top 3 universities?

59.6

To what extent are scientists and engineers available?

4.5

How many professionals are employed as researchers?

11.5

How many professionals are employed by government as researchers?

7.8

- International cooperation

To what extent are talented people attracted from abroad?

4.2

Recent News about Belgium

Pope demands that Belgian Catholic hospitals stop euthanasia

Earlier this year a group of Catholic hospitals and clinics for the mentally ill in Belgium announced that it would allow doctors to perform euthanasia on its premises. The group is linked to a religious order, the Brothers of Charity. Earlier this month Pope Francis issued an ultimatum: this must stop by the end of

“Belgium is the first country in the world not to look away”

“Belgium is the first country in the world not to look away from the unbearable suffering conditions that can affect young people as well. Belgian rules provide sufficient safeguards to prevent the abuses and the oppression, that occur in the clandestineness, to which we are condemned by such laws like the Italian ones,”, Mina Welby

Belgian rapist Van Den Bleeken refused ‘right to die’

A Belgian man serving a life sentence for rape and murder will not be allowed to have doctors end his life as he has requested, the justice minister says.Koen Geens said he was respecting the latest medical advice of doctors treating Frank Van den Bleeken, who is unable to control violent sexual urges.Van den Bleeken

In 2013, five patients per day ended their lives with the help of assisted suicide in Belgium

Data published by Sudpress on euthanasia cases in 2013 in Belgium show a steep increase (25%) in the number of patients who seek assistance in ending their lives. On a daily basis, five patients ended their lives with the help of a doctor for a total of 1,816 patients.

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