A child under the age of twelve has, for the first time, been euthanized in the Netherlands. The case once again raises questions about what critics have long described as a slippery slope – where euthanasia has gradually expanded from terminally ill adults to include an ever-growing number of groups, including children.
For the first time since the Netherlands expanded its euthanasia regulations, a child under the age of twelve has been euthanized. The case is the first to be recorded since the legal change came into force in 2024 and has once again sparked debate about the country’s liberal boundaries for euthanasia.
Dutch Health Minister Sophie Hermans informed the Dutch Parliament earlier this week that a terminally ill child “younger than twelve years old” was euthanized during the past year. No further details regarding the child’s age or diagnosis have been made public. Hermans said the case had been reported to the committee that reviews all late-term abortions and “medically assisted deaths” involving children. The case is now being reviewed by authorities to ensure that all legal requirements were followed.
Legal change for seriously ill children
In 2024, the Netherlands decided to allow euthanasia for seriously ill children between the ages of one and twelve. Previously, only infants under one year of age in special cases and children aged twelve and older were covered. At the time, the government estimated that the legal change could apply to between five and ten children per year.
In order for euthanasia to be carried out, it is required, among other things, that the child suffers from an incurable condition, that the suffering is deemed unbearable and without hope of improvement, and that the parents consent. Several independent physicians must also be involved in the process.
“Euthanasia is only permitted for patients whose unbearable suffering without prospect of improvement has a medical dimension. Ending a life is only permitted if a child is terminally ill and suffers unbearably without any prospect of improvement,” the Dutch government’s guidelines state.
Criticism from the beginning
When the rules were changed, the decision was criticized by, among others, Christian organizations and political parties that questioned whether children can truly be considered capable of making such decisions. Supporters, however, argued that the law was necessary for a very small group of children who would otherwise risk prolonged and severe suffering at the end of life.
Euthanasia has also been criticized as a slippery slope. When the Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia in 2002, the purpose was to help adult patients with incurable illnesses and unbearable suffering. Although the law did not explicitly require patients to be terminally ill, most cases involved people with advanced cancer or other serious physical illnesses.
Euthanasia for one-year-olds
Since then, its application has gradually expanded. Today, euthanasia can be granted to people with dementia, severe depression, PTSD, autism, and personality disorders. Children may also be euthanized by physicians. In 2024, the “eligibility” for euthanasia was expanded to include children between the ages of one and twelve.
Belgium legalized euthanasia in 2002 under rules similar to those in the Netherlands, and there too the regulations have been relaxed so that euthanasia may be provided to individuals suffering from mental illness, chronic depression, anxiety disorders, and other psychiatric diagnoses. In 2014, Belgium became the first country in the world to remove the lower age limit entirely, meaning that children can be euthanized.
One in twenty deaths caused by assisted dying
Canada introduced euthanasia through its Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) law, which came into force in June 2016. The original requirements stated that euthanasia would only be available to adults suffering from a serious and incurable illness whose death was “reasonably foreseeable.” As a result, approximately 1,000 people received euthanasia during the first year.
In 2021, the law was changed through Bill C-7, which removed the requirement that a patient must be nearing death. As a consequence, the number of people euthanized increased significantly. Of all those who died in Canada during 2024, 16,499 people—approximately one in every twenty deaths — died through MAiD.
More than 10,000 cases of euthanasia were reported in the Netherlands during 2025.