The Dutch government has decided to include children ages 1 to 12 who are "terminally ill" in its medical euthanasia laws. The Netherlands was the first country to legalize the practice of euthanasia back in 2002, per Insider. The practice, which allows medical assistance in dying, is still debated as a moral and ethical issue.
The Dutch government issued a press release to state the reason for expanding the laws to include this younger age group. “This concerns a small group of terminally ill children who suffer hopelessly and unbearably, whose palliative care options are not sufficient to relieve their suffering and who are expected to die in the foreseeable future," the press release reads.
More from CafeMom: A Doctor Asked Terminally Ill Kids What Really Matters in Life. Here's What They Said
The Netherlands has led the way in the legalization and practice of euthanasia.
Since it first legalized the practice of euthanasia in 2002 as a country, the Netherlands has been paving the way in policies and laws surrounding euthanasia. According to the Government of The Netherlands, the aim of the practice is to “end unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement.”
The Netherlands government defines this as, “the termination of life by a physician at the patient’s request.”
The new law would affect about five to 10 children per year, according to Insider.
Other countries have followed suit.
Other countries are taking their cue from the Netherlands and have adopted similar policies such as Belgium’s Euthanasia Act of 2002. The law legalized medically assisted suicide for citizens 18 and older, as well as for emancipated minors, per the American College of Pediatricians. An amendment was made to this in 2014 that made it legal for minors of any age to request euthanasia if they met a “specific criteria.”
Canada followed Belgium and the Netherlands' lead and legalized euthanasia for adults in 2016, but it has not yet legalized it for pediatric patients. Medical euthanasia for adults is only legal in 10 states and the District of Columbia in the US, but patients need to have received a terminal illness diagnosis with less than six months to live, according to CNN.
More from CafeMom: MIL Threatens DIL for not Allowing Her To Take Her Terminally Ill Daughter on Vacation
Not everyone in the medical community agrees about the ethics of euthanisia, especially in pediatric cases.
The practice of physician-assisted death has been highly debated amongst both doctors and the public. Although some countries have legalized the practice, others, including the UK, have not, and residents who want that option must travel abroad, per the Dignity in Dying campaign.
Some medical professional groups, such as the American College of Pediatricians, argue that physicians should always care for patients and that killing or medically assisted death is not an ethical means of treating a patient's suffering.
Doctors have to follow a strict protocol for granting a request to allow ‘medical assistance in dying.'
The new euthanasia laws in the Netherlands allowing the practice for children ages 1 to 12 to be euthanized have rigorous requirements for physicians. Doctors have to be certain that the patient's request is "voluntary," that the patient's “suffering is unbearable," and that there is no “prospect of improvement," per the Government of the Netherlands.
Dutch Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport Health Ernst Kuipers made a statement about the country’s new euthanasia laws.
"This is a particularly complex subject that deals with very harrowing situations. I am pleased that, after intensive consultation with all parties involved, we have come to a solution with which we can help these terminally ill children, their parents, and also their practitioners," Kuipers said, according to Insider.
