1-year-old euthanized under new rules in the Netherlands allowing termination for sick children

October 2, 2026

Doctors in the Netherlands have euthanized a severely disabled 1-year-old child, the first case reported by Dutch authorities under rules introduced in 2024 that allow ending the lives of seriously ill children under the age of 12.

The Christian Post reports that an assessment published by the Netherlands’ Review Committee on Late-term Abortions and Termination of Life of Neonates and Children, which reviews such cases, states the doctor involved in administering the euthanasia “acted with due care.”

According to the report, the child was euthanized through gradual sedation with “coma-inducing substances.”

The child’s name and sex have not been disclosed, but the committee said the baby was born prematurely at 26 weeks while the family was abroad.

By the time the child was nearly 2 years old, doctors estimated the child’s developmental age at about 6 weeks, following multiple complications, including spastic cerebral palsy and severe epilepsy.

According to the Christian Post, an independent doctor argued that the child met the requirements of the nation’s rules on termination of life, saying the child’s suffering was clear.

Doctors and the child’s parents ultimately decided to end the child’s life because they concluded there would be no improvement.

Liana Graham, a research assistant for domestic policy at The Heritage Foundation, told the Christian Post that the case raises broader questions about euthanasia and the groups for whom the practice could eventually be permitted.

Graham said, “The situation unfolding in the Netherlands is abhorrent, but it isn’t surprising. As an advocate against assisted suicide, I have long maintained that as soon as the state legitimates the killing of grandma, it is only a matter of time before it authorizes it for other groups deemed ‘unfit’ for life.”

Under the Dutch framework, the 2024 rules apply to children ages 1 to 12 who meet the relevant conditions.

Photo: top, Credit: Getty Images/Isabel Pavia