Dutch cabinet clears way for euthanasia for terminally ill children

The Dutch cabinet has agreed to make euthanasia a possibility for very sick children who have run out of options for treatment, in line with proposals published by health minister Ernst Kuipers last year.

For years, doctors have called for regulations to cover children between the ages of one and 12. There are already guidelines in place for babies, and the over 12s fall under the general euthanasia law.

Kuipers told MPs in a briefing he plans to extend and revise the protocol for babies to cover children aged 12 and under who are suffering unbearably and for whom palliative care options are not sufficient to relieve their symptoms.

The debate is politically sensitive given there are two Christian parties in the coalition and follows moves to widen the current euthanasia guidelines to cover patients with severe dementia who are no longer able to give consent.

Euthanasia will only be a possibility when it is the sole option to end a child’s suffering.

Between five and 10 children a year are likely to be covered by the guidelines, the health ministry said.

Read more via  DutchNews.nl