by Eliana Silver, Daily Mail
A two-year-old child has been euthanised in the Netherlands in what is the first known case of a non-infant under the age of 12 undergoing assisted death.
It was previously known that a youngster under 12 had been euthanised in the country but a Dutch review board has now revealed that the child was just two and had been suffering from severe medical conditions.
A report by the Committee for Late-Term Abortion and Termination of Life in Newborns and Children explained that the child, nearly 24 months old at the time of their death, was born prematurely at only 26 weeks.
The toddler suffered from severe brain damage, cerebral palsy and visual impairment during their short life, as well as epileptic seizures which were unresponsive to medication and mucus in their lungs, making breathing very difficult.
After determining that the youngster’s suffering could not be alleviated through medical treatment, the doctor and parents decided to end the child’s life.
An investigation by the board concluded that the doctor who carried out the euthanasia had acted with due care.
The report also stated that the physician had consulted other independent doctors for a second opinion.
‘Those physicians established that at that time the child was not continuously suffering unbearably,’ the document reads.