Belgium Approves Law Allowing Euthanasia for Terminally Ill Children
Recently, 16 leading pediatricians wrote an open letter demanding an expansion of the practice of euthanasia to sick children, which was published in two Belgian newspapers.
However, an alliance of religious groups vehemently disagreed. Representatives of Catholic, Protestant, Christian Orthodox, and Muslim religious groups published a common declaration stating that euthanizing minors is morally and ethically reprehensible.
“A child cannot buy a house in Belgium. A child cannot buy alcohol in Belgium. And this law would allow a child to ask to be killed. And that is a real problem,” Carine Brochier of the European Institute of Bioethics in Brussels told DW earlier.
The Belgium parliament is now discussing a possible extension of euthanasia to minors as well as dementia patients at an early stage.
In Belgium euthanasia implemented by doctors has been legal for 11 years. Almost 1,432 elected to be euthanized in 2012 alone.
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