Can an eight-year-old consent to euthanasia?
A plan by the Dutch government to legalise the euthanasia of young children is raising new questions about consent
Last week, the Netherlands announced its intention to allow doctors to legally euthanise terminally ill children under 12.
Minister for Health Hugo de Jonge said the expansion of the country’s assisted dying regime was necessary to help children “who agonise with no hope”.
Under the country’s existing laws, terminally ill children aged 12-16 can request an assisted death if they are experiencing intolerable suffering with no prospect of improvement.
The ethics are confronting.
