The Dutch government-appointed supervising committee of the Netherlands’ first case of euthanasia on a child under 12, has concluded that the doctor in charge performed it “with due care”.

According to the committee report, the almost two-year-old child was born prematurely at 26 weeks of gestation, suffered brain damage, and was diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy and infantile epileptic spasms syndrome. It is also likely the that the child's vision was impaired.

Due to unresponsive epilepsy medication, the toddler was often unable to sleep. Furthermore, mucus gathered in the lungs, making breathing and swallowing difficult, the authorities said in a report after the toddler's death.

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Doctors said the child’s brain development was equivalent to that of a 6-week-old baby.

“Every facet of ‘being human’ in terms of motor skills, behavior and personality was severely affected, and there would be no improvement”, states the committee in its review.

That is why, “despite all medical and non-medical interventions, the parents and the doctor observed no improvement in the child’s condition and were convinced that the child was suffering unbearably and without prospect of relief”, it adds. The child, they added, would not reach adult life. 

Mixed opinions among doctors

Based on this, the parents asked for the euthanasia for their child and, as required by law, obtained a second opinion.

“[T]hese doctors noted that at that time there was no continuous unbearable suffering. The epilepsy was accompanied by significant discomfort, but the epileptic seizures were not continuous”, explains the review.

The conclusion of these other medical experts was that “reasonable alternative solutions existed, such as palliative options and pharmacological alternatives that could potentially lead to better seizure control”.

But the parents refused palliative care, and sought another opinion. The third doctor agreed with the first one, stressing that “there was no possibility of reducing or eliminating the suffering in any reasonable other way than by ending life”, pointed out the supervising committee.

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) will now also review this case, to decide whether they agree with the committee’s assessment, or prosecute the doctor.

Euthanasia legal since 2002

The Dutch Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide Act, which allows euthanasia for individuals over age 12, was passed in 2002, making The Netherlands the first country in the world to legalise euthanasia.

Two years later, euthanasia became legal for infants under one year old in exceptional circumstances and for minors aged 12 and over, subject to parental consent.

In 2024, the law was extended to allow children between the ages of 1 and 12 to be euthanized if the child is terminally ill, suffering unbearably with no prospect of improvement, and when no reasonable treatment or palliative care alternative exists.

Dutch Christians warned about such scenarios in 2022

In 2022, Dutch Protestant churches sent a letter to the House of Representatives, warning that, “although severe, life-threatening diseases can lead to complex and distressing situations, children cannot make an independent choice when dealing with the active ending of life”, newspaper Reformatorisch Dagblad reported.

“We fear that this proposal leads to a discussion about the possibility of euthanasia for other groups of people who are disabled such as people with severe dementia. That is very threatening for people in vulnerable circumstances”, they added.