Netherlands carries out euthanasia on a two-year-old boy
A two-year-old boy with severe brain damage died in June in the country's first known case involving a child, after his doctor and his parents decided his suffering could not be relieved
The Netherlands has carried out euthanasia on a two-year-old boy, the first such case involving a child in the country, infocatolica.com reported. The boy's parents requested the procedure because of his serious illness and the absence of any prospect of improvement.
The case has prompted debate in the Netherlands and abroad. Dutch law allows euthanasia when suffering is unbearable and there is no prospect of improvement, conditions that have led to an expansion of the grounds on which it can be requested. The Netherlands legalized euthanasia in 2002.
Authorities defend decision amid international concern
The country's health authorities defended the decision, saying they acted in the child's best interest and followed all established protocols to ensure the decision was informed and agreed. Human rights groups said they were concerned about such practices, warning of the risks involved and of the possibility that euthanasia could become a routine option in cases of serious illness in childhood.
The boy died in June, and details of his case were not made public until now. He was born at 26 weeks of gestation and, according to the medical report, suffered severe brain damage that left him with severe cerebral palsy, visual impairment and frequent epileptic seizures. Almost 24 months old, he could not communicate and did not ask to die. Under the extension of the law to children aged 1 to 12, a parent may make the request in consultation with the doctor if the child cannot. In this case the doctor and the parents made the decision, finding that he had a disability causing suffering that could not be relieved.
