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I can only imagine how fucked the poor kid was to get this approved.
IMHO: everyone arguing against this, has never seen a person they love rotting alive. If every day is torture and you're in the front seat, no amount of feel-good bullshit will change the fact that it's a shit existence. If I ever get into that situation, I hope I can reach the train tracks.
Don't go for the train tracks though. It fucks up other peoples lives.
You'll find that euthanasia of children is very, very old.
And why Roman matriarchs converted to Christianity.
As it seams that nobody reads the article and is just jumping to conclusions…
This child was born very prematurely, at only 26 weeks of gestation. It quickly became apparent that the child had suffered severe brain damage, resulting in severe cerebral palsy and a visual impairment. This was compounded by frequent and severe epileptic seizures, which were largely unresponsive to medication. This left the child restless and unable to sleep for long periods. They also had mucus in their lungs, which made breathing and swallowing very difficult.
Given the cumulative effect of these conditions, it was clear that the child would not live to adulthood. The doctor also determined that their suffering could not be alleviated through medical treatment. The doctor and parents, therefore, decided to actively end the child’s life.
Now think about that. That is a child that was not supposed to be alive in the first place (26 weeks! A pregnancy is usually around 40 weeks). It is suffering. The most humane way forward (for the child) is to end it’s suffering.
With great power comes great responsibility. We can maintain life in circumstances that otherwise would result in death but we have to deal with consequences of the variables that would not have allowed life. It is a very grey and uncomfortable situation to have our capability exceed our wisdom.
They suffered over 2 years of trauma trying to find a way for their child to live. The most humane way forward for everyone involved was to end the child's suffering. I'm glad they had the option.
Yeah, this particular case is nothing to worry about. It was handled well. The real issue is that we've seen medical aid in dying be expanded very broadly in some countries. We've seen it expand into mental health issues. The real risk is that parents will start seeking assisted suicide for their children with Downs Syndrome or other developmental disabilities.
Then let’s talk about that if we see any signs of that happening.
From what I see, the Netherlands are not at any risk where you’d need to worry about it.
https://epaper.nationalpost.com/article/281483576985644
Canada has a big problem where some medical providers are essentially offering noting but medically assisted dying to some disabled patients who could do just fine with some funding for accessibility
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If I was suffering like that, I would want that option. Of course, I'm an adult so....
This is where ethical discussions kind of stop working, because it is actually quite a complex matter and probably needs a lot of philosophers to come to a sane conclusion.
I mean, if we look at it in a rather economic way, a life basically has a certain value, which changes with time. Now, for each complication, the value gets lowered. When is the point reached, at which a life is not worth living anymore? One would think, this is a very personal and subjective answer. Now try to solve that problem for another human. This is just mind blowing for me to take such a huge responsibility.
I am glad, that they found a solution which they believe was right for them and the baby.
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this post was submitted on 22 Sep 2026
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