end of life
The Netherlands allows euthanasia for children under the age of 12
Until now, euthanasia has only been legal in the country for people over the age of 12, who can give their consent, and for babies under one year old, with parental consent.
Posted Apr 14, 2023 8:33pm
The Dutch government clarified that its decision affects a “small group” of five to ten children under the age of 12 per year “for whom palliative care options are insufficient to alleviate their suffering”.
Illustrative photo/AFP
The government announced on Friday that the euthanasia for young children who endure unbearable suffering and are incurable, which Dutch paediatricians have been calling for for years, will be possible in the Netherlands. According to the executive, the regulations are to be published this year. An evaluation will take place a few years after the entry into force.
The Dutch government clarified that it is a “small group” of five to ten children under the age of 12 per year “who do not receive sufficient palliative care to alleviate their suffering”. Euthanasia will be possible “if the only reasonable alternative for a doctor is to put an end to the child’s desperate and unbearable suffering,” said Dutch Health Minister Ernst Kuipers in a letter to Parliament.
Euthanasia is already legal in the Netherlands for people over the age of 12, who can give their consent, and for babies under the age of one, with parental consent. In February 2021, Belgium became the first country in the world to take the decision to allow minors of no age who are “capacity” to choose euthanasia.
Legal since 2002
For its part, after reassessing the existing regime, the Dutch government has decided to extend end-of-life support “to children aged one to twelve”. But in the Netherlands “if the child is not able to do this, the parents can do so in consultation with the doctor,” said Axel Dees, spokesman for the health ministry.
The decision comes after years of debate and even met with opposition within Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s own ruling coalition, in which two parties are Christian-influenced. “It’s a particularly complex subject, dealing with very difficult situations,” admits Ernst Kuipers, quoted in a press release.
On April 1, 2002, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to approve this medical procedure. Belgium quickly followed suit. Every year more and more people resort to euthanasia in the Netherlands, 8700 people last year according to official figures. The majority suffered from terminal cancer.
(AFP)