The Netherlands is weighing whether to allow doctors to euthanize terminally ill kids under age 12 who cannot be cured, according to NL Times.
Health Minister Huge de Jonge submitted the new policy Tuesday to the States General of the Netherlands, claiming "a small group of terminally ill children" should be able to end their lives.
Assisted suicide is legal in The Netherlands for babies younger than 1 year old and children older than age 12. Still, De Jonge wants kids in between those age ranges to have the option to end their lives if they feel insufferable pain.
Terminally ill children between ages one and 12 "who agonize with no hope, and unbearable suffering," can only receive palliative care or have nutrition withheld until they die, NL Times wrote.
De Jonge said the proposed new policy would only impact up to 10 children each year who suffer "as a result, in some cases unnecessarily, for a long time, without any prospect of improvement." He added "the best possible care" for these children is the ultimate goal.
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