A review committee in the Netherlands has confirmed that doctors ended the life of a severely disabled one-year-old child, in what authorities say is the first reported case carried out under new rules introduced in 2024.
The Netherlands’ Review Committee on Late-term Abortions and Termination of Life of Neonates and Children aged under 12 said the decision was consistent with the national framework governing the termination of life of seriously ill children aged between 1 and 12.
Under the framework, doctors must conclude that a child is suffering unbearably with no prospect of improvement and that there is no reasonable alternative to ending that suffering.
Severe Conditions Cited By The Committee
The committee’s published assessment did not disclose the child’s sex or identity. It said the child had extensive and irreversible brain damage alongside severe cerebral palsy, epilepsy and visual impairment.
The child was born extremely prematurely at 26 weeks and three days while the family was abroad. After birth, the child developed multiple complications, including repeated infections that progressed to sepsis. An MRI later showed widespread brain injury.
As the child grew, they developed spastic cerebral palsy and were believed to have cerebral visual impairment. At eight months, the child was diagnosed with infantile epileptic spasms syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy.
Developmental Prognosis And Independent Opinions
As the child approached the age of two, doctors estimated their developmental age to be about six weeks. The committee said that every aspect of the child’s development, including motor skills, behaviour and personality, had been severely affected and that there was no prospect of improvement.
Not all doctors involved in the child’s care initially agreed that ending the child’s life was the appropriate course of action. The doctor leading the treatment therefore sought independent opinions from physicians outside his own region.
Those doctors concluded that the child was not continuously suffering unbearably and that reasonable alternatives remained, including palliative care and other medications that could potentially improve seizure control.
Further treatment was subsequently attempted, but the committee said it caused additional side effects and was discontinued.
Another independent doctor later concluded that the child’s suffering was clearly unbearable and that the statutory requirements for termination of life had been met.
The committee ultimately ruled that the physician who ended the child’s life had acted with due care and in accordance with the applicable requirements.
New 2024 Rules And Netherlands’ Legal Context
The Netherlands introduced the updated rules in 2024. They apply in exceptional cases involving children aged between 1 and 12 who are suffering unbearably, have no prospect of improvement and for whom doctors conclude there is no reasonable alternative to ending their suffering.
The Netherlands legalised euthanasia in 2002, with the law allowing people aged 12 and over to request it under strict conditions. The separate framework covering younger children concerns termination of life in exceptional medical circumstances.
Doctors who unlawfully terminate a patient’s life can face criminal penalties.
For children under 12, the committee said doctors must conclude, based on prevailing medical opinion, that termination of life is the only reasonable way to end unbearable suffering where there is no prospect of improvement.
The doctor who ended the child’s life has since spoken publicly about the case on the NOS/Nieuwsuur current affairs programme.
He said the unprecedented nature of the procedure had left him feeling vulnerable, comparing the situation to living with a “sword of Damocles” over the previous year.
He said he hoped the committee’s ruling would make it easier for families facing similar circumstances to discuss the option with their treating physician.
Join the discussion? 
30 September 2026
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment