# Euthanasia of a minor **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 30, 2026, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475 "2026-09-30T03:19:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/1 "2026-09-30T03:19:06Z")
_I really do not know if this is the right place for this topic. I also do not know how I feel about it, what my position on it is._ [One-year-old child in Netherlands euthanized.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/netherlands-confirms-first-child-euthanized-175125276.html) > [@](#): > > The first child euthanized in the Netherlands was a 1-year-old child, according to the Dutch government. > > In June 2026, Health Minister Sophie Hermans revealed that a child under the age of 12 died from euthanasia at the end of 2025 due to severe illness, marking the first case of its kind. > > Now, according to a [new report](https://www.lzalpkcommissie.nl/publicaties/oordelen/lk/2026/lk-2026-001) from the committee that reviews all late-term abortions and medically assisted deaths of children, officials confirm the child was “almost 24 months” old at the time of their death. > > The child was reportedly born prematurely at just 26 weeks, leading to serious complications including “extensive brain damage” and multiple infections that led to sepsis by the time the baby was 4 months old. > > At 8 months old, the child was diagnosed with a rare and serious form of epilepsy called infantile spasms syndrome (also known as West syndrome) and cerebral palsy. The seizures led to the baby developing a severe sleeping disorder, as well as suffering from respiratory problems, coughing fits and a swallowing disorder. > > “In the course of the child’s short life, there was a complete lack of development or improvement,” the report states. “Every facet of ‘being human’ in terms of motor skills, behavior and personality was severely affected, and there would be no improvement. Despite all the medical and non-medical interventions, the parents and the physician saw no improvement in the child’s condition and were convinced that the child was suffering unbearably and without prospect of improvement.” > > Now, according to a [new report](https://www.lzalpkcommissie.nl/publicaties/oordelen/lk/2026/lk-2026-001) from the committee that reviews all late-term abortions and medically assisted deaths of children, officials confirm the child was “almost 24 months” old at the time of their death. > > The child was reportedly born prematurely at just 26 weeks, leading to serious complications including “extensive brain damage” and multiple infections that led to sepsis by the time the baby was 4 months old. > > At 8 months old, the child was diagnosed with a rare and serious form of epilepsy called infantile spasms syndrome (also known as West syndrome) and cerebral palsy. The seizures led to the baby developing a severe sleeping disorder, as well as suffering from respiratory problems, coughing fits and a swallowing disorder. > > “In the course of the child’s short life, there was a complete lack of development or improvement,” the report states. “Every facet of ‘being human’ in terms of motor skills, behavior and personality was severely affected, and there would be no improvement. Despite all the medical and non-medical interventions, the parents and the physician saw no improvement in the child’s condition and were convinced that the child was suffering unbearably and without prospect of improvement.” On one side, I do not want someone, especially a child, to suffer. On the other side, how certain, absent brain death or cessation of brain functions, can the physicians be that there will be no improvement. I know this is a very sad thing for the family and the medical personnel involved. So, what’s the debate? I guess it’s: _Has the Netherlands made the correct choice by enacting their euthanasia law?_ ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/2 "2026-09-30T03:35:12Z")
I don’t know where the line is. If the baby was in the womb, it would’ve been aborted and rightfully so. The line between autonomy, suffering, life and death is complex. Personally I’m fine with it though. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/3 "2026-09-30T03:38:59Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > can the physicians be that there will be no improvement. There may legitimately be doubt about that. But > [@Monty](#): > > the parents and the physician saw no improvement in the child’s condition and were convinced that the child was suffering unbearably There is probably a great deal less doubt about this. From the information given, it seems like they made the best decision they could. Asking the child to continue suffering “unbearably” on the bare chance of some improvement in the future seems cruel to me. As a precedent it might be a little frightening. All the authorities can do is to do their best to make sure each individual case is vetted as thoroughly as possible before making their decision. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/4 "2026-09-30T09:24:00Z")
Morally this is clearly a large step in the correct direction. Everything about terminal illness or about profoundly defective births is heartbreaking to read about and hellish to live through. No matter what your role in the “living through” part. We long ago stopped ignoring the suffering and misery of the sickest animals in our care and instead humanely end their lives. I’d hope we’d gain the wisdom and perspective needed to do the same to our human loved ones before I’m ratty enough to need that compassion visited upon the useless dying husk of me. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/5 "2026-09-30T10:19:46Z")
This is a horribly tragic situation but I don’t see that there was any better alternative. When you have options, and all of them are bad, you pick the one that is least bad. What really seriously pisses me off about these situations is irrational arguments coming from the religionists – that it’s all about “God’s will” and we have no right to interfere. Look, I’m pretty sure that whatever God there may be is already very busy looking after an unimaginably vast universe and is willing to relegate these sorts of responsibilities to the rational part of the brain that he tried to give us. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/6 "2026-09-30T13:29:32Z")
Yep. My response to every “God’s will” argument is: “You ever eat an aspirin? You violated God’s will and are condemned to Hell forever. I hope you’re happy with yourself!” Idjits. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/7 "2026-09-30T13:36:55Z")
Based on the description of the child’s numerous and horrible health issues, I have no problem with their decision. I don’t believe in life no matter how horrible the circmstances or how excruciating the pain. There is no justification for prolonging an existence that awful, and how anyone can actually feel good about himself doing so is beyong my understanding. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/8 "2026-09-30T13:39:43Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > My response to every “God’s will” argument is: “You ever eat an aspirin? You violated God’s will and are condemned to Hell forever. Satan (at the entrance to Hell): “Is THIS or is THIS not your bottle of aspirin and, is it or is it not half empty?!” 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/9 "2026-09-30T13:51:44Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > From the information given, it seems like they made the best decision they could. Asking the child to continue suffering “unbearably” on the bare chance of some improvement in the future seems cruel to me. This exactly. From the information given, the alternative was to continue torturing the child. Sometimes you have to let go. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/10 "2026-09-30T14:49:39Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Satan (at the entrance to Hell): “Is THIS or is THIS not your bottle of aspirin and, is it or is it not half empty?!” 🤨 To play devil’s advocate, one could argue that it’s half full. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/11 "2026-09-30T15:07:40Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Has the Netherlands made the correct choice by enacting their euthanasia law? In general? Yes, absolutely. In a lot of ways, we treat our pets who are terminally ill more humanely and compassionately than we do people in similar situations. I mean, someone with ALS is _not_ going to get better. There’s no compelling reason to make them ride it all the way out until their body just can’t keep going, if that’s not what they want. But that’s what the law says, so the vast majority just get worse and worse until they eventually die. Same thing with cancer patients and other terminally ill patients. The place that I know of where it gets really complicated is with dementia and other diseases that affect decision making capacity. There’s sort of an inherent Catch-22 in there, where if someone’s got the decision making capacity to choose euthanasia, they probably aren’t at the point where they would want it, and if they are at that point, they don’t have the decision making capacity anymore. But I’m sure the vast majority of people would choose that over years of steady decline with dementia. And for babies/children, it’s a lot more fraught with uncertainty, as they’re often surprisingly adaptable in ways that adults aren’t, and can grow up ok despite some pretty wild things happening to them as infants/children. But the option ought to be there for parents in situations like this, and it should be extremely well regulated and reviewed. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/12 "2026-09-30T15:14:21Z")
It sounded like hell on earth for the baby and no doubt the parents. I can’t fathom the level of suffering they all endured. I think this sort of thing is best decided by physician and parents. Tragic, but probably the most humane option. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/13 "2026-09-30T15:19:34Z")
This is the sort of thing where the process needs to be evaluated, because the particular case is too heartbreaking. Are all the stakeholders represented well enough? Are there enough safeguards against abuse? If the process is good, then I will trust the people making these difficult decisions. If only because _I_ would not want to be responsible for such a decision. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/14 "2026-09-30T15:22:06Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > What really seriously pisses me off about these situations is irrational arguments coming from the religionists – that it’s all about “God’s will” and we have no right to interfere Coming back to this — It seems to me massively unlikely that a child in that condition, or any child born at 26 weeks, was kept alive without considerable medical “interference”. With that interference, these days, some children born that early survive, and some of them do so in such condition that they want to be alive (and that it’s eventually possible for them to understand that question.) Some of them don’t. But without medical interference, pretty much all of them are going to die. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/15 "2026-09-30T15:24:31Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > To play devil’s advocate, one could argue that it’s half full. Satan: “Oh, a wiseguy, hey?! I’m moving your room down to steerage.” 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/16 "2026-09-30T15:25:26Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > What really seriously pisses me off about these situations is irrational arguments coming from the religionists – that it’s all about “God’s will” and we have no right to interfere. These sort of difficult situations are extremely emotional. Holding a standard for rationality is difficult. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/17 "2026-09-30T16:12:40Z")
I asked my wife, who was a Special Education teacher for more than 35 years, and who worked with a lot of children with severe disabilities.She has always believed that every child with disabilities should be given every opportunity to have an improved quality of life. Her reaction was immediate - that if the parents and the doctors and whatever other review boards there are agree that the child has no hope of ever living without **substantial, permanent** medical assistance, allowing death is a moral and compassionate decision. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/18 "2026-09-30T16:16:41Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > What really seriously pisses me off about these situations is irrational arguments coming from the religionists – that it’s all about “God’s will” and we have no right to interfere. > > These sort of difficult situations are extremely emotional. Holding a standard for rationality is difficult. Still, those of us not directly involved (and I bet most of the people-on-the-internet sounding off on this issue on one side or the other wouldn’t know any of the family members or physicians in this case if they fell over them) arguably have a kind of civic duty to hang on to rationality when confronted with this sort of tragedy as a general societal issue. People projecting their own emotions onto the tragedies of strangers—whether they’re shrieking _“Murderer!!”_ because they personally can’t stand the idea of deliberately letting a child die, or hollering _“Euthanize immediately, full stop!”_ because they personally can’t stand the idea of letting a child suffer—are Not Helping. This is a matter for the parents and physicians of the suffering individual to decide. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/19 "2026-09-30T16:38:14Z")
How long should this process take, and when does it become a religious/political stall tactic? ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475/20 "2026-09-30T16:49:07Z")
Good question. What do you think? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/euthanasia-of-a-minor/1033475.md?page=2)