Belgium is one of five countries that allow doctors to kill patients at their request, and one of two, along with the Netherlands, that grant the procedure for people with mental illness. Concerns have previously been raised about whether Thienpont, Nys' psychiatrist, too easily approved euthanasia requests from patients with mental illness. According to copies of letters obtained by The Associated Press, those worries have led to a clash between Thienpont and Dr. Wim Distelmans, chairman of Belgium’s euthanasia review commission, that has not been publicly disclosed. Distelmans voiced fears that Thienpont and colleagues may have failed to meet certain legal requirements in some euthanasia cases — and wrote that he would no longer accept referred patients from Thienpont. Belgium is one of two countries, along with the Netherlands, where euthanasia of people for psychiatric reasons is allowed if they can prove they have "unbearable and untreatable" suffering. Among adults whose lives are ended for psychiatric reasons, the most common conditions are depression, personality disorder and Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism. The decision in Belgium, taken on Thursday by the Court of Appeal in Ghent, stems from a civil action brought by a sister of an autistic woman, Tine Nys, who was euthanised in 2010 at the age of 38. After Nys’ death, her sister Sophie filed a criminal complaint, alleging irregularities in her sister’s euthanasia procedure, including fumbling efforts to administer drugs and asking her family to confirm that Tine’s heart had stopped. "We must try to stop these people," wrote Dr. Lieve Thienpont, the psychiatrist who approved Nys' request to die — and one of the doctors now facing charges. “It is a seriously dysfunctional, wounded, traumatized family with very little empathy and respect for others,” the message read. In Belgium, euthanasia has been allowed since 2002 for patients suffering from an incurable disease who have made their request "voluntarily, thoughtfully and repeatedly".
– Belgian doctors accused of improperly euthanizing a woman with autism will see their case go to trial, marking "the first time that there has been a decision to refer such a case to a court of law" since the practice was legalized in 2002, a prosecutor tells the AFP. Three doctors from East Flanders are being investigated on suspicion of having "poisoned" Tine Nys in 2010. The 38-year-old had been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome two months before she died in an apparently legal killing by a doctor. Sophie Nys, one of Tine's sisters, told the AP of "irregularities" in the process: that the doctor who performed the euthanasia asked her parents to hold the needle in place while he administered the fatal injection, among other fumbling efforts. Afterward, the doctor asked the family to use a stethoscope to confirm that Tine's heart had stopped. Last year, the AP reported that after Nys' family filed a criminal complaint, her doctors attempted to block the investigation. "We must try to stop these people," wrote Dr. Lieve Thienpont, the psychiatrist who approved Nys' request to die—and one of the doctors now facing charges. "It is a seriously dysfunctional, wounded, traumatized family with very little empathy and respect for others." Nys also alleged that her sister's longtime psychiatrist wouldn't give Tine the OK, and that Thienpoint did so after as few as two or three sessions with her. Belgium is one of two countries, along with the Netherlands, where euthanasia of people for psychiatric reasons—including depression, personality disorder and Asperger's—is allowed if they can prove they have "unbearable and untreatable" suffering.