Heart and soul : to die with dignity?.

This programme explores the decriminalisation of euthanasia in Belgium and the moral, ethical and spiritual questions surrounding the right to die. Presenter John Laurenson interviews terminally ill patients at The Topaz Day Centre in Brussels, discussing with one patient the conflict between Belgium's Catholic roots and legalisation of euthanasia. He then interviews Palliative Care Professional Dr Corinne Van Oost, who recounts her experiences carrying out euthanasia. Van Oost explains how she negotiates practising Catholicism and euthanasia. Laurenson visits Palliative Care Professional and Catholic Priest Father Mark Desmet, who describes the typical ritual elements of a ceremony associated with a medically-assisted death. Laurenson interviews Count Philippe Pozzo di Borgo about his shift in views from pro to anti-euthanasia. Laurenson then discusses the Belgian parliamentary debates regarding extending the right to die to people with severe mental disabilities. He interviews the father of a young boy who had terminal brain cancer about his views on the parliamentary movement to remove the age limit for euthanasia. Laurenson interviews a Palliative Care doctor at Tournai Hospital, who is the only person in her institution to disagree with the practise of euthanasia. He then visits Father Eric, who is a prominent voice in the anti-euthanasia debates in Belgium. Laurenson discusses the Completed Life Initiative, a proposed change to the law in Holland that voted to extend the right to a medically-assisted death to all Dutch people over 70 years of age. Di Borgo deliberates whether there is a "right time" to request a medically-assisted death.