Netherlands allows euthanasia for children under 12

The Dutch government announced yesterday that the euthanasia of young children suffering from incurable diseases that cause them unbearable suffering will be allowed in the Netherlands, in response to demands made by Dutch paediatricians for years.

The government explained that the measure concerns a "small group" of five to 10 children under the age of 12 per year, for whom "palliative care options cannot alleviate their suffering."

Dutch Health Minister Ernst Kuipers said: "This will concern children with a severe illness or disorder whose end will be inevitable death."

He stressed that assisted death would be possible "when that is the only reasonable alternative for the doctor to put an end to the child's unbearably severe suffering."