The president of the Belgian biggest health care fund, Christian Mutualities (CM), has called for a radical solution to the problem of Belgium’s ageing population. Luc Van Gorp told Belgian media this week that people who are tired of life should be allowed to end it. Like all other European countries and, indeed, the rest of the world apart from sub-Saharan Africa, Belgium faces a huge increase in its elderly. Over-80s will double by 2050, from around 640,000 today to 1.2 million. Financial pressure on healthcare, medication and nursing homes will increase. More money is not the solution, says Van Gorp. “No matter how much you end up investing, it will still not be enough. There are simply not enough health workers to do the job,” he said. “Do we really need all those extra residential care centres? Just building up rooms without doing anything about the staff shortage is not a sustainable model. I miss the why- question in elderly care. Why do we do business the way we do them now? There is often no answer to this.”

He is in favour of “a radically different approach” – not asking “how long can I live?”, but “how long can I live a quality life?”. He proposes euthanasia for people who believe that their lives are complete. “Suicide is too negative a term,” says Van Gorp. “I would rather call it: giving life back. I know it is sensitive, but we really have to dare to have that debate.”

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