Table_2_Media coverage of Belgium’s first criminal case concerning euthanasia for psychiatric patients: A content analysis of Flemish newspapers and magazines.xlsx

BackgroundBelgium is one of the few countries worldwide where euthanasia on the grounds of unbearable suffering caused by a psychiatric disorder is legally possible. In April 2010 euthanasia was carried out on a 38-year-old Belgian woman with borderline personality disorder and/or autism. After a complaint by the family, three physicians were referred to the Court of Assizes on the charge of “murder by poisoning”.
MethodsA content analysis of print and online news coverage of the euthanasia case in a selected sample of Flemish newspapers and magazines, published between December 1, 2019 and March 1, 2020, was conducted to analyze the prominence and framing of the euthanasia case, as well as the portrayal of key figures in this case. A quantitative analysis, as well as an in-depth qualitative analysis (with the aid of NVivo 1.0 software) was performed.
ResultsOne thousand two hundred fifteen news articles were identified through database searching. Of these, 789 articles were included after screening for relevance and eligibility. Mean prominence scores were moderate and did not statistically significantly differ between newspapers with a different historical ideological background or form (elite versus popular). The most frequent headline topics featured legal aspects (relating to the Belgian Euthanasia Law or the course of the trial). Headlines and content of most articles (90 and 89%, respectively) did not contain an essential standpoint on the euthanasia case itself or, if they did, were neutral. Historical ideological background, nor form of newspaper (elite versus popular) significantly influenced headline tone or article direction toward the euthanasia case. Despite this, our qualitative analysis showed some subtle differences in selection, statement or tonality of reports between certain newspapers with a different historical ideological background.
ConclusionAlthough major Flemish newspapers and magazines generally were neutral in their coverage of the judicial case, major points of contention discussed were: the need for an evaluation and possible amendments to the existing Euthanasia Law, including a revision of the Belgian Control Commission and the system of penalties for physicians, and the absence of any consensus or guidance on how to define psychological suffering.

研究背景
比利时是全球少数将"因精神障碍引发难以忍受痛苦而实施安乐死（euthanasia）"合法化的国家之一。2010年4月，一名38岁的比利时女性因罹患边缘型人格障碍（borderline personality disorder）及（或）孤独症（autism）接受了安乐死。在家属提起投诉后，三名医师因"投毒谋杀"罪名被提交至重罪法庭（Court of Assizes）。

研究方法
本研究针对2019年12月1日至2020年3月1日期间发布的弗拉芒地区报纸与杂志的印刷版及在线新闻报道开展内容分析法（content analysis），以分析该安乐死案件的报道关注度与报道框架，以及对案件关键人物的形象呈现。同时借助NVivo 1.0软件，同步开展定量分析（quantitative analysis）与深入的质性分析（qualitative analysis）。

研究结果
通过数据库检索共识别出1215篇新闻报道，经相关性与合规性筛查后纳入789篇。报道的平均关注度评分处于中等水平，且不同历史意识形态背景或形态（精英类与大众类报纸）的报纸之间，该评分无统计学显著差异。最常见的标题主题涉及法律层面（与比利时《安乐死法》（Belgian Euthanasia Law）及案件审理进程相关）。多数文章的标题（占比90%）与正文（占比89%）未就该安乐死案件本身提出明确立场；即便存在立场，也均为中立立场。报纸的历史意识形态背景与报纸形态（精英类与大众类）均未对标题基调或文章针对该案件的立场倾向产生显著影响。尽管如此，质性分析仍显示，不同意识形态背景的报纸在报道选材、表述或基调上存在些许细微差异。

研究结论
尽管弗拉芒地区主要报纸与杂志对该司法案件的报道整体保持中立，但讨论的核心争议点包括：需对现行《安乐死法》进行评估并可能修订，其中涵盖对比利时监管委员会（Belgian Control Commission）及医师处罚制度的调整；以及当前缺乏关于如何界定精神痛苦的共识或指导准则。