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Netherlands: Debate is going on in many countries including India to give legal recognition to euthanasia. At the same time, the Netherlands has (Law made,) made a law to approve euthanasia for children. Earlier, Belgium has also made a similar law. In 2014 itself, Belgium made rules for euthanasia for children. There, in 2016, a 17-year-old child was allowed euthanasia for the first time. But, on this decision of the Government of Netherlands, the debate on euthanasia has again started in the world. The Netherlands government has set several conditions for children to be approved for euthanasia.
Under the new law made by the government of the Netherlands, parents can ask for euthanasia of their dying children with medical assistance. According to the law, the approval of euthanasia will be given only for those children, who are going through such a disease or condition, which has no hope of recovery and the child is going through unbearable pain. Apart from this, the permission for euthanasia will not be given to the child, but only on the request of his parents. Not only this, parents can also request euthanasia only for children below 12 years of age.
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Why was euthanasia approved for children?
According to the government of the Netherlands, the option of euthanasia is open only to those children who are facing difficult situations equal to death. This is the best option for children who go through severe pain on a daily basis. Please tell that after a serious accident with a 17-year-old girl Noa Pothoven in the Netherlands, euthanasia was requested. Actually, Pothoven lived in Arnhem. He had a major accident at the age of 11. She was assaulted and sexually assaulted thrice. Because of this she was in very bad condition.
Pothoven had reached depression after the incidents. She was battling post-traumatic stress disorder as well as anorexia. Things took a turn for the worse and he sought permission for euthanasia. However, his request for euthanasia was not accepted. Later Pothoven stopped eating and drinking. He died in very bad circumstances. After such a painful death, the government felt that a new law should be made for such cases. After this, the government of Netherlands has also made a law for this.
Law is already in force, expanded
There is already a euthanasia law in the Netherlands. Now the government has extended it to the most seriously ill children from 1 to 12 years. In simple words, the government has made some changes in the already applicable law. It has been clarified in this that the help of a doctor is essential in giving euthanasia to children. The government says that on the request of the parents, only more than 10 children will be approved for euthanasia every year. Now do you know what were the rules of euthanasia in the Netherlands before the amendment?
In the Netherlands, minors aged 12 to 15 could ask for euthanasia with parental consent.
Apart from this, the youth of 16 to 17 years could ask for euthanasia just by giving information to the parents.
Netherlands, Belgium, New Zealand
The Netherlands legalized conditional euthanasia in 2002. Then the Netherlands became the first country in the world to do so.
When did it get legal recognition for the first time?
The Netherlands legalized conditional euthanasia in 2002. Then the Netherlands became the first country in the world to do so. However, its rules were kept very strict. Under the law, it was made mandatory to inform the Medical Review Board about every request for euthanasia. After this, a study was done in 2019, after which the decision to amend the law was taken. In this, on the request of the parents, it was emphasized to consider the option of approving euthanasia even for children aged 1 to 12 years who are suffering from serious diseases.
