AI Image
Terminally ill child euthanised in the Netherlands was one year old, government says
Euronews.com • • world
Key Points:
- The Netherlands performed euthanasia on a terminally ill one-year-old child, making them the youngest person in the world to die by euthanasia under the country's expanded assisted-dying laws for children aged one to 12, legalized in 2024.
- The child, born prematurely, suffered from sepsis, extensive brain damage, severe cerebral palsy, and epilepsy, with respiratory problems and no signs of development or improvement throughout their life.
- The parents requested euthanasia after it became clear there was no hope for the child's recovery, and the doctor who performed the procedure was not prosecuted following a committee's ruling that the physician acted with due care.
- The Netherlands legalized euthanasia in 2002 under strict conditions and requires all cases to be reported to medical review boards to ensure compliance with legal and ethical standards.
