Two-Year-Old Child Euthanised in Netherlands Despite Doctors Finding Palliative Alternatives

29.09.2026

A two-year-old child with disabilities has been euthanised in the Netherlands in the first reported case under controversial rules permitting doctors to end the lives of children aged between one and 12.

Pic: Adobe stock

Pro-life organisation Live Action highlighted the case after further details emerged from an official Dutch review. The child had cerebral palsy, epilepsy, visual impairment and profound developmental delay, and was expected to remain dependent on others for lifelong care.

Born prematurely at 26 weeks, the child subsequently suffered serious complications and brain damage. By the age of two, the child was experiencing frequent epileptic seizures, sleeping difficulties, swallowing problems and respiratory distress.

Doctors and the child's parents concluded that the suffering was unbearable and without prospect of improvement. However, doctors initially consulted for a second opinion reportedly disagreed, finding that the suffering was not continuously unbearable and that alternatives, including palliative care and different treatments for the epilepsy, remained available.

The parents reportedly declined palliative care and another medical opinion was subsequently obtained. That doctor concluded the child's severe brain damage, frequent seizures and ongoing discomfort amounted to unbearable suffering that could not reasonably be relieved.

The child's life was subsequently ended after sedation.

An official review committee has now concluded that the case was handled in accordance with the applicable requirements.

Live Action strongly criticised the decision, stressing that the child was severely disabled rather than imminently dying and warning about allowing assessments of suffering and future quality of life to determine whether a disabled child's life should be ended.

The case has renewed concerns about the protection afforded to profoundly disabled children who cannot themselves request or consent to having their lives ended.