First minor receives euthanasia in Belgium
A teenager with a Dutch case file has received euthanasia in Belgium, the first case since the law was adapted in 2014 to allow minors access to the procedure
No details on identity of patient
Belgium adapted its law on euthanasia in 2014 to allow minors to request the procedure, the only country in the world to do so. The Netherlands allows the possibility, but only for terminal cases over the age of 12.
Under Belgian law, the young person must be undergoing intolerable suffering from a condition with no medical prognosis, must have requested euthanasia personally and must have the permission of the parents.
The federal commission has been the subject of some criticism since it announced the case. According to critics, the news will only give the outside world the impression that Belgium is in a rush to euthanise its children.
“The great misunderstanding of the outside world is that this will happen more often,” said child cancer specialist Yves Benoit of Ghent University Hospital. “That’s not the case, and we knew that when the law was introduced.”
There are about 60 terminal cases of cancer in any given year among minors in Belgium, with other terminal illnesses bringing the total to just under 200. That compares with adult cases of more than 100,000.
Photo: Ingimage
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