A severely disabled one-year-old child has been euthanized by doctors in the Netherlands, a government review panel has confirmed. This is the first case reported by authorities guided by new rules allowing the end of life of a seriously ill person children aged 1 to 12 in the European nation.
The child, whose gender and identity were not disclosed, suffered extensive and irreversible brain damage, severe cerebral palsy, epilepsy and visual impairment, according to the assessment published by the Dutch Review Committee on Late-Term Abortions and Termination of Life of Newborns and Children Under 12, which is responsible for reviewing such cases.
The committee said the child was born extremely prematurely, at 26 weeks and three days, while the family was overseas. The child subsequently had serious complications, including multiple infections leading to sepsis. An MRI later revealed significant brain damage.
The child developed spastic cerebral palsy and likely suffered from cerebral visual impairment. At 8 months old, the child was also diagnosed with infantile epileptic spasm syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy.
Just before the child turned 2, doctors estimated his developmental age at around 6 weeks.
“Every facet of the ‘human being’ in terms of motor skills, behavior and personality has been severely affected, and there will be no improvement,” the committee said.
Not all doctors who evaluated the child agreed with the decision to resort to euthanasia during their treatment.
The doctor responsible for the child’s care sought independent advice from “doctors outside his own area,” who concluded that “the child was not in continuous unbearable pain” and that “there were still reasonable alternatives, such as palliative options and other medications that could potentially provide better control of the epileptic seizures,” according to the review panel.
Additional treatment was attempted, but the committee said it caused additional side effects and was therefore discontinued. Another independent doctor later concluded that the child’s suffering was evident and unbearable and that the conditions required to end life under the country’s rules were met.
The committee ultimately concluded that the doctor involved in administering the euthanasia “acted with due diligence.”
The Netherlands introduced these rules in 2024, which apply to children suffering unbearably with no prospect of improvement, and for whom doctors conclude there is no reasonable alternative but to end their suffering.
The doctor who ended the child’s life has since spoken publicly about the matter, telling the current affairs program NOS/Nieuwsuur that the unprecedented nature of the procedure left him vulnerable.
“As a doctor, you are in an extremely vulnerable position because this has never happened before,” he said. “It still feels like a sword of Damocles has been hanging over your head for almost a year.”
The doctor said he hopes the ruling will help other families facing similar circumstances discuss this option with their doctors.
“I think there are parents who have never dared to discuss the possibility of ending their (child’s) life before,” he said. “I hope this decision will help these parents discuss this option with their treating physician.”
He described allowing the termination of life in such circumstances as “a kind of child empowerment.”
The Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia in 2002, with the law also allowing children aged 12 and over to request it under strict conditions. In the Netherlands, doctors who illegally practice euthanasia face up to 12 years in prison and a fine.
“The guiding principle for termination of life in children below 12 years of age is that the physician must have reached the conclusion that, according to prevailing medical opinion, termination of life is the only reasonable means of ending the child’s unbearable suffering without prospect of improvement,” the committee said.
Gn world
