The Netherlands will extend the right to die to children between the ages of 1 and 12. The green light came from the government, which explained that the new rules will apply to children aged between 1 and 12 who suffer unbearably from a deadly disease, have no hope of improvement and for whom palliative care is not they are sufficient to relieve suffering. The local media reported it. “For this group, the interruption of life is the only reasonable alternative to end the desperate and unbearable suffering of the child,” the Health Ministry said in a statement, stressing that “these are about 5-10 children all ‘year”.
For years, doctors have been asking for a regulation that covers children between the ages of one and 12: there are already guidelines for newborns, while those over 12 are covered by the general law on euthanasia. The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia in 2002.
According to Dutch rules, all cases must be reported to medical boards. The law already provided for the possibility of practicing euthanasia for terminally ill newborns up to their first year of life and for children over the age of 12. The Guardian points out that the Netherlands will not be the first country to allow doctors to assist in the death of children of all ages, because Belgium has allowed it since 2014. According to data from the regional review commissions, also quoted by the Guardian, in 2022, only one case of euthanasia was reported in the Netherlands for a minor aged between 12 and 16.