Child under age of 12 dies by euthanasia following law change
Warning: This article contains discussion of assisted dying which some readers may find distressing.
A Netherlands minister disclosed that near the end of last year a child under the age of 12 died by euthanasia.
Until two years ago the law in the country had been that only newborns and people over the age of 12 could be approved for euthanasia provided they were going through 'intolerable suffering' with no hope of relief.
However, in 2024 the law was changed to include children under 12 who had no reasonable path out of their pain and suffering so they could have the right to 'die with dignity'.
The law change was expected to be used in only very few circumstances, and The Times reports that two years on Dutch health minister Sophie Hermans disclosed a letter to her country's parliament explaining that the first death under this law had been carried out with a 'gravely ill' child.
No further details were provided about the child's name, age, gender or medical status, only confirmation that it had happened.
For euthanasia in such circumstances doctors must be able to show there was no humane alternative, which for children especially is a very high bar to clear.
Euthanasia first became legal in the Netherlands in 2002 with strict conditions, and since then further changes to the laws regarding it have widened the age limit.
16 and 17-year-olds require parental consultation, while 12 to 15-year-old need parental consent and the younger someone is the more barriers to assisted dying there are.
Euthanasia for children remains incredibly rare and only done in the most serious of circumstances, with many safeguards in place to ensure that someone going through with it does not have a realistic alternative and is seriously suffering.
Some people who have undergone euthanasia have been open about the process to show what it is like.
Dutch woman Zoraya ter Beek underwent euthanasia in 2024 at the age of 29, explaining that it had been a long and complicated process starting in 2020 involving her exhausting all other possible options for treatment.
She had said: "In the three and a half years this has taken, I’ve never hesitated about my decision.
"I have felt guilt – I have a partner, family, friends and I’m not blind to their pain. And I’ve felt scared. But I’m absolutely determined to go through with it.
"Every doctor at every stage says: 'Are you sure? You can stop at any point'."
She had said the entire process was 'really safe' and it takes time and a lot of assessments from medical professionals to determine that a person who has chosen to go through with euthanasia is of sound mind and has no other feasible alternatives.
Topics: Health, World News
Joe Harker