Terminally ill child euthanised in the Netherlands was one year old, government says

The Netherlands legalised euthanasia for severely ill children between the ages of one and 12 in 2024. The first terminally ill child to be euthanised in the Netherlands under an expansion of the country’s assisted-dying laws was one year old and is the youngest person in the world to die by euthanasia. Dutch officials revealed in June that a child had died by euthanasia last year but gave no further details about the age of the infant or the terminal illness. But an official government report published earlier this month said that the child had been born prematurely, had contracted sepsis and had been diagnosed with “extensive brain damage” at just four months. The child was also diagnosed with a severe form of cerebral palsy and was later found to have a severe form of epilepsy. “The child had sputum clearance problems, which means that it was difficult to loosen and cough up mucus from the lungs and airways. Besides shortness of breath, this leads to a considerably higher risk of respiratory infections,” the report said. “In the course of the child’s short life, there was a complete lack of development or improvement.” The report adds that the parents asked the child’s physician “to terminate the child’s life” when it became clear there was no hope of improvement. The Netherlands legalised euthanasia for severely ill children between the ages of one and 12 in 2024. Earlier this week, Dutch media reported that the Public Prosecution Service said it would not prosecute the doctor following advice from a committee that ruled earlier this month that the physician acted with due care. "As a doctor, you are in an extremely vulnerable position, because this has never happened before. It still feels as if a sword of Damocles has been hanging over your head for almost a year," he said. The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalise euthanasia under strict conditions in 2002. All cases must be reported to medical review boards. Last year, 10,341 deaths by assisted suicide or euthanasia were reported in the Netherlands, according to the Regional Euthanasia Review Committees, representing a rise of 3.8% compared to 2024.