Children and youth

Dutch Toddler Is Youngest Known Euthanasia Case

Was this mercy or a choice that shouldn't be made?

Published 1 day ago

Dutch Toddler Is Youngest Known Euthanasia Case

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Above: A small lamp stands at a children's hospice in Hamburg, Germany, on April 27, 2023. Image credit: Marcus Brandt/picture alliance/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-government narrative

When a child's every waking hour is pain, and every treatment only adds more, forcing that life to drag on is cruelty wearing the mask of compassion. Ending suffering that medicine can't touch, after layers of independent review and parents who know their child best, is the most humane medicine left. Mercy should not stop at an age limit.

Review Committee for Late-Term Pregnancy Termination and End-of-Life Decisions for Newborns and Children Aged 1 to 12 Dutch Government

Government-critical narrative

Once killing becomes a treatment option, the safeguards bend until they break — here, doctors who said alternatives still existed were overruled once another opinion was found. A child too young to speak can't consent to death, so adults decide which lives are worth continuing. Every expansion starts small and never stays there.

Right to Life UK

David Alton on X