The Netherlands will legalize euthanasia for terminally ill children between the ages of one and twelve – to the dismay of Christian politicians.
He said there was a “gray area” between doctors giving palliative sedation to alleviate adolescents’ suffering and actively end their lives, reports Dutch News.
The politician told parliament on Tuesday that terminally ill children aged 1 to 12 are likely to have access to euthanasia.
The NL Times added that legalizing terminal procedures would affect between five and ten children a year who “in some cases suffer unnecessarily long periods of time with no prospect of improvement”.
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De Jonge said it was “of great importance” that this group of terminally ill children be given the “best possible care”.
A spokesman for the ChristenUnie party told Dutch News: “There is a whole spectrum – we are against euthanasia for children who are not considered mentally competent, but we are not against palliative sedation.
“There are many different options between them and the question is what the formal proposal will be like.
“Ending a life actively is a very difficult and differentiated question and where are the limits?”
The BBC reports that the current Dutch laws do not need to be changed in line with the new policy.
However, the Minister of Health said doctors would be exempt from prosecution for performing approved euthanasia on terminally ill children in this age group if existing laws were extended to this new age group.
For those children affected by the new policy, doctors are currently allowed to provide palliative care – such as sedation – or withhold nutrition for extended periods of time until they die, explains NL Times.
Concerned doctors have called this a “gray area” and called for stronger regulation to clarify treatment in these cases.
However, opposition politicians have been told that it is inappropriate to push the change through less than six months before the next elections.
The NL Times writes that “there is likely a majority in parliament willing to widen the age group’s access to end-of-life treatment, which also supports the unification of pediatricians and parenting groups”.
Health bosses are still working on the final version of the proposed policy along with prosecutors and professional medical organizations to make the policy clear, the paper adds.
It is currently unknown whether the terminally ill children would have to personally consent to the fatal procedure or whether it is up to the parents to make this fatal decision on their behalf.
The medical teaching hospitals in Groningen, Rotterdam and Amsterdam reported that some children may be suffering because general practitioners are afraid of the consequences of measures that could hasten their death, according to Dutch News.
Experts interviewed 72 doctors and found that “the vast majority considered it acceptable to actively end the lives of children under 12 with acute illness at the request of their parents, and that a new law should allow this.
“However, in the 2015 study of 296 deaths, there was no evidence that euthanasia was performed on children under the age of 12,” the paper adds.
According to a report from the Ministry of Health, “there is no evidence that there is currently an active abortion and that euthanasia is being carried out in children between the ages of one and 12.”
“However, doctors experience a gray area between palliative sedation and active termination of sedation. In some cases, this leads doctors to act more cautiously for fear of the effects.
“Some doctors and parents need legal opportunities to actively end life.
“(But), parents experience a taboo in the discussion about ending active life.”
Currently in the Netherlands “euthanasia is allowed for children aged 12-16 if parents are involved and in the decision-making process and also agree to the end of life,” the report adds.
It is also noted that “end-of-life decisions other than ending active life, such as discontinuing life-prolonging treatment, are considered normal medical treatment in the Netherlands”.
This is “permissible for all age groups subject to the usual legal requirements for medical practice and medical standards.
“Palliative sedation according to the guidelines … is permitted if a patient is severely suffering … and life expectancy is limited (e.g. adults up to two weeks).”
ONLY DOCTORS GIVE FATAL DOSE
In 2002 the Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia.
It can only be done by doctors who administer lethal doses of medicine under strict conditions.
These end-of-life procedures are legally possible for babies up to one year old and for children over 12 years of age.
According to Dutch law, people are entitled to euthanasia if they submit a deliberate, voluntary application and if their suffering is hopelessly “unbearable”.
Last year there were 6,361 cases of euthanasia in the Netherlands – just over four percent of all deaths in the country, reported The guard.
Of this, 91 percent were incurable illnesses, while the rest were due to severe psychiatric illnesses.
WHAT IS EUTHANASIA?
The term comes from ancient Greek and means “good death”.
Euthanasia, sometimes known as mercy killing, is the practice of intentionally ending a person’s life in order to relieve their pain and suffering.
Euthanasia intentionally helps or encourages someone to commit suicide, for example by providing them with medication.
Euthanasia and dying are a controversial issue – with passionate activists on either side of the argument.
People who consent to euthanasia often argue that people are allowed to die with dignity – and should be able to choose when and how to die, and potentially spare their loved ones the pain of seeing them suffer.
Some also believe that death is private and that it is not the place of the state to interfere if a person is about to die. And there are people who believe that this is against the job description of doctors and nurses and the oath not to harm patients – they also say that it undermines the value of human life.
Others also worry about the possibility of someone recovering or changing their mind if it is already too late. Some have even suggested that this could make people feel pressured to ask about death because they don’t want to bother those around them.
Many religious people are against euthanasia and also help die because they believe that God decides when we die.
This article originally appeared on The Sun and has been reproduced with permission
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