Dutch authorities have recorded the first medically assisted death of a child aged between one and 12 under the country’s expanded end-of-life regulations.
No information has been released about the child’s exact age, sex or medical condition. The case occurred in late 2025 and was reported to the specialist committee responsible for reviewing the termination of life involving children.
Dutch child euthanasia case follows 2024 rule change
The case is widely being described as euthanasia, although Dutch law makes an important distinction. Children aged 12 and over may personally request euthanasia under the general legislation. For terminally ill children between one and 12, termination of life is governed by a separate framework introduced in February 2024.
The procedure is permitted only when a child is suffering unbearably from a terminal condition, has no prospect of improvement and has no reasonable alternative capable of relieving the suffering, including palliative care.
The decision must be made by the doctor in consultation with the parents. The child must also be involved wherever their age and condition make this possible, and doctors must ensure that the procedure is not carried out against the child’s wishes.
Every case is reviewed by a specialist committee, which assesses whether the doctor followed the required medical safeguards. Its conclusions are then forwarded to prosecutors, who determine whether the physician acted lawfully.
Euthanasia accounts for 6% of Dutch deaths
Euthanasia and assisted suicide have been legal under strict conditions in the Netherlands for more than two decades.
For patients covered by the general euthanasia law, the request must be voluntary and carefully considered. A doctor must establish that the suffering is unbearable and has no prospect of improvement, explain the patient’s condition and prognosis, and conclude that no reasonable alternative is available.
At least one independent doctor must also examine the patient and provide a written assessment. The Dutch review committees received 10,341 euthanasia notifications in 2025, representing 6% of all deaths in the country, approximately one in 17.
The 2024 reform did not remove all age distinctions. Separate rules continue to apply to newborns under one, children aged one to 11, adolescents aged 12 to 15 and those aged 16 or 17.
Historical comparisons prompt controversy
Opponents of euthanasia have compared the extension of the Dutch framework to the so-called euthanasia programme operated by Nazi Germany, under which thousands of children with disabilities were murdered. Such comparisons remain highly controversial. The Nazi programme was a coercive campaign of mass killing based on eugenics, often carried out without the consent of victims or their families.
The modern Dutch framework, by contrast, is presented as an exceptional medical procedure for terminally ill children experiencing suffering that cannot otherwise be relieved. It requires parental involvement, medical review and scrutiny by prosecutors. Critics nevertheless argue that allowing doctors and parents to authorise the death of a child who cannot legally make an independent euthanasia request crosses a profound ethical boundary.
Supporters say the measure applies only to extremely rare cases in which continued treatment or palliative care cannot end a terminally ill child’s suffering. The first Dutch child euthanasia case is therefore likely to intensify debate over parental consent, medical responsibility and the limits of end-of-life care for minors.
