A terminally ill child has become the first minor to be helped to die since Belgium voted to allow voluntary euthanasia for children in 2014. “Fortunately there are very few children who are considered, but that does not mean we should refuse them the right to a dignified death,” Distelmans told a Belgian newspaper. Belgium legalised euthanasia in 2002 and two years ago amended the rules to become the first country in the world to permit doctors to help terminally ill minors of any age to die. Any request for euthanasia must be made by the minor, be studied by a team of doctors and an independent psychiatrist or psychologist, and have parental consent. Between 2003 and 2013, the number of patients being euthanised in Belgium rose nearly eight-fold to 8,752 , according to the national euthanasia control committee’s records.

Source: The Guardian September 17, 2016 13:07 UTC