A CitizenGo petition was launched after the Minister of Health, Hugo de Jonge, announced that the government will amend or re-interpret the euthanasia law. He told MPs in a briefing that work is progressing on plans to make it possible to help terminally sick children aged between one and 12 to die, in limited circumstances.
The recommendation was made in a report by experts in 2019 who found that a small group of children may be suffering because doctors are afraid of the consequences of actions that could hasten their deaths.
De Jonge said that he wants to ensure there are ‘more legal guarantees for doctors’ who take the decision to end the life of a child, as well as transparency for healthcare staff and parents, and protection for the rights of children.
The current Netherlands euthanasia law permits euthanasia for children as young as 12, when parents or guardians consent; the Groningen Protocol permits euthanasia for disabled newborns. People over the age of 16 are considered adults and can therefore provide consent to euthanasia.
Belgium became the first country to allow for voluntary child euthanasia in 2014 when it legislated to allow euthanasia in cases where the young patient was terminally ill and in great pain.
The issue has been the cause of heated debate within the Netherlands’ ruling four-party coalition, with opposition from both the Christian parties, the Christian Democrat Appeal party, led by De Jonge, and the more conservative ChristenUnie. De Jonge had been open to a debate on the issue but he faced opposition from ChristenUnie.
In 2019 there were 6,361 cases of euthanasia in the country, just over 4% of the country’s total deaths. Of those, 91% were for terminal medical conditions.
The remainder of euthanasia cases involve severe psychiatric illness. In 2018, the case of Aurelia Brouwers, 29, who was chronically suicidal, triggered a debate when her decision to die was covered in a documentary. Brouwers’ own doctors would not help their patient terminate her life, but she was granted her wish after applying to the Levenseindekliniek – the End of Life Clinic – in The Hague.
