What Belgium Just Legalised Makes It Possible For Kids Of Any Age To Choose Death
Does a terminally ill child in intolerable pain have a right to die? Belgian lawmakers said yes.
By Sadho Ram — 14 Feb 2014, 07:23 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
Euthanasia is nothing new to Belgium, in fact it was legalized for adults in 2002. On 13 February, the Lower House of Parliament voted YES to extend the right to children of any age.
The lower house of the Belgian Parliament is seen during its plenary session in Brussels.
Image via themalaymailonline.comTherefore, Belgium has become the first country in the world to approve euthanasia for children of all ages. The country’s parliamentarians passed the controversial bill in a vote of 86 to 44, with 12 MPs abstaining.
In December of 2013, the Belgian Senate passed the bill sending it to the Parliament. Although it is seen as merely a “formality” by many Belgians, King Philippe now must sign the bill into law allowing a child to choose death in order for it to take effect.
guardianlv.com
Reacting to it, Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, called the move a “form of abandonment”
“Belgium has abandoned the elderly, and now they are saying they will abandon their children,” he told LifeSiteNews.
lifesitenews.com
Schadenberg said the new law is not about ending suffering for children with disabilities, but about expanding the “categories that are eligible for death.”
themalaymailonline.com
The current law is extended to adults who endure “constant and unbearable physical or mental suffering that cannot be alleviated.” Much like the current law for adults, the bill requires strict guidelines with multiple criteria.
In order for a child to qualify, the child must be terminally ill, have an incurable disease and be in intolerable prolonged pain. A child must be considered to understand the concept and finality of euthanasia.
cnn.com
Though the act itself is a quick procedure, the process before is not. Children, just as adults do now, will need to go through extensive psychological evaluations with multiple doctors. Parental consent will be required as well as a written request by the patient.
theguardian.com
The proposed law had been protested by a number of groups that said the existing 2002 euthanasia legislation has been an unmitigated disaster
“This is the horrific logic of euthanasia: Once killing is accepted as an answer to human difficulty and suffering, the power of sheer logic dictates that there is no bottom,” wrote Wesley J. Smith about the law.
lifesitenews.com
Activists of the collective Yellow Safety Jacket protest against the proposed statutory amendment legalizing the euthanasia of young children in Brussels, Belgium.
Image via gannett-cdn.comThe law was opposed by some Belgian paediatricians and the country's leading Roman Catholic cleric. The law will come into effect when signed by Belgium's monarch, King Philippe, who is not expected to oppose the measure.
The heated debate has split the medical, legal, and political professions, with the Catholic church staging prayer vigils in protest, and hospice and palliative care specialists stating themselves generally opposed.
usatoday.com
Four-year-old Jessica Saba from Canada pleads with the King of Belgium not to sign the euthanasia law for children.
Image via nationalpost.comOpinion polls show public majority support for the radical move. The paediatricians have called for a delay and further debate on the matter.
theguardian.com