Netherlands Allows Euthanasia for Children Under 12 Years Old

"Hopeless and Suffering Children Targeted"
Medical Community Requests Expansion of Euthanasia Age for Years

The Netherlands has decided to expand euthanasia, which is currently only permitted for those aged 12 and over, to allow it for children under 12 suffering from incurable diseases.

On the 15th (local time), according to the British daily The Guardian and AFP news agency, the Dutch Ministry of Health announced on the 14th in a statement that it would expand the age limit for euthanasia, which had been restricted to those aged 12 and above. The Ministry of Health stated, "The Dutch cabinet is preparing a life-ending system for children under 12 who have no prospect of recovery and are suffering unbearable pain," adding, "This system will apply to children for whom palliative care is insufficient to relieve pain and who are expected to die in the near future." This revision will proceed by amending existing implementation rules and does not require separate parliamentary approval.

The Ministry of Health expects that euthanasia will be performed on about 5 to 10 children annually through the expansion of eligibility. Until now, euthanasia was possible for children aged 12 to 16 with parental consent in the Netherlands. With this revision allowing euthanasia for infants and children aged 1 to 11, euthanasia will be possible for almost all age groups in the Netherlands.

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Regarding the expansion of euthanasia eligibility, AFP reported, "This decision comes after years of demands from the Dutch medical community to lower the current age limit for euthanasia." According to Dutch government statistics, about 8,700 cases of euthanasia were performed in the country last year, with only one case involving a child aged 12 to 16. Most of these were terminal cancer patients.

The Netherlands was the first country to legalize euthanasia at the national level in 2002. Belgium, which enacted the world's first law on euthanasia for children in 2014, allowed euthanasia for children of all ages before the Netherlands. Belgium requires the child's own consent for euthanasia, whereas the Netherlands allows euthanasia with parental permission after consultation with a doctor if the child cannot consent themselves.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.