Kind unter 12 Jahren wurde in den Niederlanden zum ersten Mal nach einer Gesetzesänderung eingeschläfert
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/europe/child-netherlands-euthanasia-law-change-b3002020.html
Von Forward-Answer-4407
Kind unter 12 Jahren wurde in den Niederlanden zum ersten Mal nach einer Gesetzesänderung eingeschläfert
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/europe/child-netherlands-euthanasia-law-change-b3002020.html
Von Forward-Answer-4407
27 Kommentare
It sounds like the bar is very high for this to have occurred but still, fuck me. Awful.
Why should children dying of cancer and incurable disease have to suffer for no reason?
I have a bad feeling about this. I am a very vocal supporter of right to a dignified death, but much of that is rooted in that i don’t want the right to life being used against the right to dignity and choice.
Here, the choice part is obviously problematic. But at the same time, I don’t want unnecessary suffering in the world. I must the the hardest decision anyone can be called to make.
I very much hope that such cases will not be used to campaign against dignity and choice for adults.
Before any Russian bot comes out of the woodworks complaining that we shouldn’t kill kids; doctors have to go through intensive checks and balances in order to go through with this. There is a whole subspecialty of doctors who have to approve these requests independently (SCEN arts) and in this case the hospitals lawyers and medical ethical specialists probably weighed in on the decision.
That being said; we treat our pets with more dignity than our patients sometimes. Sometimes a calm and painless death surrounded by family and friends is the best outcome. This religious notion that we have to suffer until the very end is bullshit. If you want that, go ahead, but let the rest die in peace when the time comes.
Unimaginably tough situation for everyone involved the young person, their family, and the medical team. No one ever wants to be in that position.
But I’m genuinely thankful they had the option to choose dignity, comfort, and peace instead of prolonged suffering.
It’s one of those moments where you see why compassionate laws matter.
The key thing here — as with all euthanasia cases, from pets to us — is that it becomes available when the situation is termed to have zero prospects for improvement.
This means that death would have come shortly, and inevitably. Assisted dying merely gives people the option to die as they chose, with little suffering, and not wait it out.
Children at that age still have autonomy, even though as a society we largely stomp on that autonomy (food, style, schedules, etc are all by the parents‘ behest)
If that sucked as a normal kid with normal issues, I cannot fathom how fucking awful it must be as a disabled kid. For non-disabled parents, who do not understand, to override your choices medically.
If it’s a nightmare for the elderly who are kept alive when they should have passed, it’d be a nightmare for an 11 y/o too.
I’m glad this is an option.
in cases like these, i think the kid should be able to make the decision themselves or the next of kin shoul be able to choose without repercussions
it’s horrible to be out of control because a law says so, and you’re dying anyways
source: work at a palliative care unit and let me tell you that people love the choice over their own lives
We euthanise kids under 9 months old all the time. Its nothing new.
In my country this would be impossible, and I assume it is awful for all involved parties.
I was once discussing the possibility of illnesses (incurable) with my parents and how they would want me to proceed.
My mother looked at me and said „I know what it means to have a sick parent, I would swallow bottles of pills before I ever put you through that“.
It’s a crazy option but if she would want to do this, I would support her with the best of my abilities. Both of my parents had their parents with aggressive cancers that killed them slowly and painfully whilst they were relatively young. My mom was 18-19, my dad was 22-23.
I remember once, as a young child, hearing my father cry in the bathroom after a hospital trip visiting his mother. That cry was adressed many years later and even now he tears up a bit whenever he remembers how it was. (Even after 30 years).
So in this case, who would I be to deny them such a decision, if one of my parents would want to end their business on this earth in their own terms? (After you try all the treatments etc).
My nephew died of cancer at age 12. He had stomach cancer, and the treatment cured it but caused leukemia. He went through hell the last 3 months of his life and OFTEN stated he wished he would just die because the pain was so unbearable. Let people die with dignity.
His favorite joke:
What did the fish say when he swam into a wall?
DAM!
we are kinder to animals. let people die with dignity, especially if they wish it, instead of prolonging suffering for juust a day more
At least older people, in some countries have the choice, but a child’s situation is so much more complex, especially if they aren’t aware enough to even understand anything else but suffering.
Here in the U.S. we give our pets more dignity with death. Actually some states have assisted but not enough and not mine.
Anyone who believes that this is horrific should be required to volunteer at a children’s hospice. There is no glory or honor in forcing a child to suffer through the last month.
# It is the first time the 2024 law has been applied to a child between the age of one and 12
[Maira Butt](https://www.the-independent.com/author/maira-butt)
Wednesday 24 June 2026 07:03 EDT
A seriously ill [child](https://www.the-independent.com/topic/child) under the age of 12 has been euthanised in the [Netherlands](https://www.the-independent.com/topic/netherlands) for the first time after a law change two years ago.
In a letter to parliament, Dutch health minister Sophie Hermans said that the child had died last year but did not clarify their age, date of death or the [illness](https://www.the-independent.com/topic/illness) that they suffered, according to broadcaster NOS.
The law in the Netherlands was changed in 2024 to extend [euthanasia](https://www.the-independent.com/topic/euthanasia) to children under the age of 12 to allow them to “die with dignity” if there was no route to escape extremely severe pain or suffering.
Previously the procedure had only been permissible for newborns and children aged over 12. Patients under the age of 18 require the consent of a parent or guardian.
Under euthanasia laws, a person must be in a state of intolerable suffering with no realistic hope of relief and it should only be applied in exceptional and extreme circumstances.
The law was expected to apply to around five children every year *(PA)*
In order to undergo the procedure, a doctor must persuade the authorities that euthanasia is appropriate and that there is no humane alternative. The threshold is extremely high when applying the legislation to young children.
Hermans said that the review committee has examined the case and spoken to the doctor involved, according to NOS.
The committee’s judgment has been forwarded to the Public Prosecution Service (OM) who must ultimately determine whether the doctor acted in accordance with the law. The recommendation of the review committee will be made public shortly, she explained.
When the rule was changed it was expected only to apply to around five children every year.
“Euthanasia is only allowed for patients whose unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement has a medical dimension,” government guidance says.
“Termination of life is only allowed if a child is terminally ill and is suffering unbearably with no prospect of improvement.
“This means the child is in constant, severe pain. And that there is no cure, and no reasonable alternative to relieve the child’s suffering, even through palliative care.
“In this situation, the doctor may decide, together with the parents, to terminate the child’s life. This decision is always made in consultation with the parents and, if possible, also with the child.”
In the UK, a bill to allow adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death – subject to the approval of two doctors and an expert panel – will return to the House of Commons this September.
My godmother (my mum’s best friend of nearly 50 years and treated me and my sister like we were hers) passed this Sunday after breast cancer got into the bones. She was miserable and in pain the last few months. She had no chance of survival. She wanted out witb euthanasia, but its not there in the UK. This should be an option.
I know it probably was gonna live a life of suffering otherwise but Jesus christ this post title sounds insane
Man that sucks.
I was pro-euthanasia but I changed my mind, ironically enough, by becoming friend with crippled and disabled people that educated me. If the state legalize access to death, they may start pushing for it instead of giving benefits to young people that are too crippled / disabled to work and would rely entirely on benefits.
I have a young friend – he’s only 22, 23, and he suffers from fibromyalgia to a point he cannot have a job in his day to day life. But he’s young, and it’s an invisible illness, and the government keeps refusing to give him disabled benefits despite his doctor recommendation because he’s so young and it’s a lifelong illness, he won’t suddenly get better – so giving him benefits means giving them for life.
Before giving people the right to chose a dignified death if they want to, we should make sure to give them the right to a dignified life. As it stands out, if euthanasia was suddenly legal in France, I wouldn’t trust the state in not pushing it as a solution to him because him killing himself would be cheaper than pay him so he can have a dignified life.
_Plottwist: it was a jongere on a fatbike_
We allow animals to die with dignity when they are sick and in pain with no chance of healing but we do not do the same for humans. If you are going to suffer, why not be allowed to this?
Its not an easy decision/choice but it is the one that gives you freedom to go out on your own twrms
I was at work one day about 7 years ago, someone walked in and asked if it would be ok if they used the parking lot the next day for their kid dying of brain cancer, the next day I looked out the window and a lot of people were there in the parking lot together with the kid, I ended up finding out he was only 10 years old and was only supposed to live until the next monday. It made me really sad and angry at the same time.
Based Netherlands that this is at all possible. As long as the multidisciplinary review remains in place I have no problem with this. No one should be forced to continue suffering to such an extent that they’d rather die.
it was me
Sure it was for the right reason and humane
The 4 pillars of medical treatment nr 3 is respect the will of the patient to not receive treatment should also give a person the right to not suffer unnecessary and have the right to choose to end it with the help of a doctor. We have mercy on an animal that suffers why not a human being. When you are terminal and there is only suffering left.a doctor can give enough morphine so you can die peacefully often the problem is family that can’t let go also the law it’s inhumane in my opinion
This is disgusting. I really hope there’s more of a pushback and euthanasia is repealed and banned.
Obligatory: This is nothing more than the process of building a legal framework to protect doctors from doing the thing they’ve been doing for millennia. This idea that doctors in [Insert country] do not have a informal network they call upon to euthanize in certain cases is a polite fantasy. This is just formalizing it, with the downside that news agencies have a paper trail to write about.