The Hague, Netherlands.- The Netherlands will expand its current regulations on euthanasia to include the possibility of death assisted by a doctor for children between the ages of one and 12 with terminal illnesses, the Dutch government reported on Friday.
The new rules would apply to an estimated group of 5 to 10 children a year, who suffer unbearably from their illness, have no hope of getting better and are unable to be relieved by palliative care.
“End of life for this group is the only reasonable alternative to the unbearable and desperate suffering of the child,” a statement said.
“This concerns children affected by a disease or condition so severe that death is inevitable and expected with no future possible,” said Dutch Health Minister Ernst Kuipers.
In 2002, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia under strict conditions.
All cases of euthanasia must be reported to medical review boards.
The law already contemplated the possibility of euthanizing terminally ill babies up to their first birthday and children older than 12 years.
Euthanasia is already legal in the Netherlands for those over the age of 12 who can consent, and for babies under one year of age with parental consent.
The Netherlands would not be the first to allow physician-assisted dying for children of all ages.
Belgium became in February 2014 the first country in the world to authorize euthanasia for minors “with discernment capacity”, and without age limit.
Every year in the Netherlands the number of people resorting to euthanasia increases, 8,700 people last year, according to official figures. Most suffered from cancer in its terminal stage.
