Legal euthanasia given to a child under 12 for the first time in the Netherlands; First case after changing the law

Amsterdam/International Desk: A very sensitive and historical case has come to light in the European country Netherlands. There, for the first time, a child under the age of 12 years suffering from an incurable and serious illness has been given legal euthanasia. This is the first case of its kind after the major changes made in the country’s euthanasia law in the year 2024. Under the new rules, there is now a provision to give euthanasia to those children aged between 1 to 12 years, who are suffering from an incurable disease where the pain has become unbearable and there is no hope of their recovery in medical science. This was revealed in the Parliament, the government lawyer will do a legal investigation of the entire matter. Netherlands Health Minister Sophie Hermans officially confirmed this while presenting the government’s annual report in the Parliament. He told that this child has said goodbye to the world through euthanasia. However, keeping privacy and sensitivity in mind, the government has not made public any information about the child’s exact age, identity, gender or his illness. The Health Minister also made it clear that according to the rules of the country, this entire matter will now be scrutinized by government lawyers. They will ensure that the doctor performing the procedure has fully followed all the strict guidelines written in the law. Not just ‘not wanting to live’, the law was changed on this condition in 2024. The Netherlands government had amended its decades-old law in the year 2024, after which innocent children aged between 1 to 12 years also got the right to euthanasia in some very special and serious circumstances. However, the government has maintained complete strictness in its rules. According to the law, euthanasia can be given only on the basis of extremely serious and terminal medical condition. A person or adolescent cannot get permission under this law just because he or she feels that ‘his or her life is over’ or ‘he or she no longer feels like living’. There are very strict rules set for doctors; Parental consent is mandatory In the Netherlands, before any patient can be euthanized, the medical team and doctors must go through an extremely long and complex legal process: Doctors must irrefutably certify that the patient’s physical or mental pain is completely unbearable. It is necessary to prove that the disease is incurable and there is zero possibility of improvement in future. The patient and his family have been given complete technical information about every aspect of the disease. Let it be absolutely clear that there is no other treatment or therapy available to provide relief from pain. In addition, the Chief Doctor has to obtain the written opinion of another independent medical expert. In cases of children below 12 years of age, the most essential condition is the written consent of their parents or legal guardians. When this law was passed, the government had estimated that only 5 to 10 such cases could be reported in the country every year. What were the rules earlier and what is the punishment for violation? In the Netherlands, until 2024, euthanasia was legally permitted only for seriously ill infants under 1 year of age and adolescents/adults over 12 years of age. There were no such rights for children between the ages of 1 and 12; They were given only ‘palliative care’ to reduce pain or had to wait for natural death. As per current rules, euthanasia for children aged 12 to 15 years requires parental consent. At the same time, 16 and 17 year old teenagers can take independent decisions on this, although it is necessary to involve their parents in the process. If any doctor goes outside these strict rules or euthanizes someone without proper approval, then under the law of the country, he can be punished with jail up to 12 years and heavy fine. Netherlands is the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia. If seen globally, Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia in the year 2002. Every case that happens here is reviewed by a special medical examination committee. After the Netherlands, the neighboring country Belgium also took a big step in 2014 and legalized euthanasia for children of all ages, without any age limit. There is a huge debate going on even today among medical and legal experts around the world on this sensitive issue.