Disturbing Report Tells Story of Toddler Euthanized in the Netherlands
The doctor who euthanized a disabled toddler in the Netherlands last year was cleared of all wrongdoing in September after an official review found he’d exercised “reasonable care” in ending the child’s life.
The harrowing report, which the “Netherland’s Review Committee on Late-Term Abortion and Termination of Life of Neonates and Children Aged Under 12” made public last month, illustrates the weaponization of euthanasia against patients who can’t speak for themselves.
It also gives us more heartbreaking information about the child who died — the first since the Netherlands legalized the euthanasia of children between one and 12 years old in 2024.
According to the review, the child was about to turn two when its parents consented for a physician to euthanize him or her. We still do not know the baby’s name or sex.
The child was reportedly born at just over 26 weeks old. A subsequent series of infections and damaging immune responses led to brain damage causing cerebral palsy, cerebral visual impairment and epilepsy.
The child’s parents struggled to manage his or her epilepsy. Side-effects from seizure medications caused the toddler to develop a swallowing disorder which, combined with difficulty expelling mucus, made the child more likely to die from choking on food or water.
The baby also suffered developmental delays. At the time of his or her death, the child was functioning at the developmental level of a six-week-old.
This poor baby certainly needed around-the-clock care. But, importantly, he or she was not dying. The child’s parents and physician made the decision to end his or her life, per the report, because they believed:
- The child was experiencing unbearable suffering.
- The child had no reasonable prospect of improvement.
- No treatment would offer the child significant and lasting relief.
“The committee found that the physician could be satisfied that in the child’s situation there was no reasonable way to reduce or end the child’s suffering other than by termination of the child’s life,” the report concludes.
In the Netherlands, it is legal to euthanize someone who is suffering from a chronic illness or disability. But death is not a reasonable way to reduce or end chronic physical pain.
Pope John Paul II says it best in his Evangelium Vitae:
True “compassion” leads to sharing another’s pain; it does not kill the person whose suffering we cannot bear.
Worse even than offering death as a form of pain relief, the parents and doctor euthanized a young child who could neither understand nor consent to death.
In addition to acknowledging “the child was incapable of any form of communication,” the review notes the physician could not ask the child about his or her pain levels:
To this day, the Netherland government’s own website about euthanasia reads:
The child certainly did not consent to or request euthanasia, let alone personally inform any of the doctor’s conclusions about pain levels.
Even more distressing, not all consulting physicians agreed the child should be euthanized.
The review committee exonerated the physician of wrongdoing in euthanizing the child, in part, because he sought second opinions from other doctors. Not all those consulted thought the baby should be euthanized.
Dissenting voices noted that, while the seizures caused discomfort, they were not continuous. They recommended other medications and palliative treatment be explored.
The physician who euthanized the toddler told the review committee he tried the recommended medications, but that the side-effects were too severe.
It’s unclear what, if any, palliative options were explored, only that the parents did not want their child to be continuously sedated.
One other consulting physician agreed the toddler should be euthanized — but even he acknowledged the toddler was not in constant pain.
“The child’s unbearable suffering was clearly due to the continuous discomfort — except during sporadic better moments,” the outside doctor reportedly weighed in.
Can a patient be in continuous discomfort if they also experience “better moments?”
The review is sprinkled with dire assessments of the child’s ability, development and possibilities for improvement. It reads, in part:
Here, the physician subtly reduces the child to something less than human. Though he or she is of the human species, the doctor seems to say, the child lacks the personality, the motor skills and behavioral development required to truly “be human.”
But human life doesn’t become valuable at some arbitrary developmental benchmark. The Bible tells us human life is intrinsically valuable because each human is made in the image of God.
The toddler euthanized in the Netherlands last year bore the image of God, just as he or she was, and deserved to live and receive compassionate care.
Instead, the Netherlands’ expansive euthanasia regime created a legal way, not only for people to elect to end their own lives, but for parents and guardians to choose to end the lives of their dependents and call it mercy.
That’s not mercy.
Focus on the Family offers a one-time complimentary consultation with our ministry’s professionally trained counselors. To reach Focus on the Family’s counseling service by phone, call 1-855-771-HELP (4357) weekdays 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Mountain Time). Alternatively, you can fill out our Counseling Consultation Request Form.
To learn more about euthanasia and physician assisted suicide, and to receive trusted guidance, review the resources below.
Understanding God’s Plan for the End of Life
A Godly Perspective on End-of-Life Decisions
Aging Loved Ones and Physician-Assisted Suicide
Answers to Common Questions About Physician-Assisted Suicide
The Problem With Ending It All: A Response to Physician-Assisted Suicide
To learn more about the cultural spread of euthanasia and physician assisted suicide, and why Christians should oppose it, check out the articles below.
As Euthanasia Expands in the West, Here’s How Christians Can Respond
Anglican Church of Canada Launches ‘Pastoral Liturgy’ for Medically-Assisted Suicide
British Lawmakers Vote to legalize Assisted Suicide, Tragically Devaluing Life
Over 16,000 Canadians Likely Died From Euthanasia in 2023
Canadian Retailer Launches Disturbing Advertising Campaign for Euthanasia
Canada Will Legalize Euthanasia for Those Struggling With Mental Illness
Tragic Case in Canada Highlights Problems with Permissive Euthanasia Laws
California Just Made It Easier for the Terminally Ill to Commit Suicide
New Mexico Becomes Ninth State to Pass Physician-Assisted Suicide; What Christians Need to Know
Eight Reasons to Oppose Physician-Assisted Suicide
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