A terminally ill child under the age of 12 was euthanized in the Netherlands last year, marking the first known case since the country expanded its euthanasia laws in 2024 to include children aged one to 12 who are terminally ill with no prospect of improvement.
Dutch Health Minister Sophie Hermans disclosed the case in a June letter to parliament alongside the annual report from the committee reviewing late-term abortions and medically assisted deaths of children.
Prosecutors are now reviewing whether the doctor followed all legal requirements.
The government has not released the child’s exact age, gender, or specific medical condition, citing privacy.
The euthanasia was said to have been carried out because the child faced “unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement” that had a clear medical dimension.
Dutch rules allow euthanasia in such cases for diseases like cancer, as well as certain psychiatric disorders or complex conditions.
It remains prohibited for people who simply feel that their lives are “finished” or “completed” without a medical basis.
For children under 12, parental or guardian consent is required. The government has stated that in these cases, ending the child’s life is considered “the only reasonable alternative to the child’s unbearable and hopeless suffering.”
The Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide in 2002.
Doctors who fail to follow the rules can face up to 12 years in prison.
Children aged one to 12 were previously barred from assisted suicide.
Dutch officials estimated the change would apply to approximately five to 10 children per year.
In 2025, the Netherlands recorded 10,341 deaths by assisted suicide, a 3.8% increase from the previous year.
Since the mid-2000s, the Netherlands has allowed euthanasia for severely disabled or terminally ill infants under one year old when suffering is deemed “unbearable and untreatable.”
Hellbound and Down 