Belgium May Legalize Child Euthanasia

Belgium lawmakers may soon be abolishing age restrictions on who can ask to be euthanized.

The highly liberal country is already one of the few countries where euthanasia is legal, but as things stand, only those eighteen or older and dying  can be asked to be put to death. However, last Decmeber, the Belgium Senate voted 50 to 17 to amend the country's law so that it could apply to minors.

The law, if passed, would have several conditions that need to be  met for an instance of child euthanasia to be legal. Parental consent and the child's own ability to understand what they are asking for, as assessed by a psychiatrist, are absolutely necessary for the procedure. The law would also be very specific so that it will only apply to the handful of adolescents who are in advanced stages of cancer or some other terminal illness, and suffering from unbearable pain.

It is now up to the House of Representatives, Belgium's second half of Parliament, to decide whether they agree with the changes to the county's euthanasia laws. They are scheduled to have their votes in by this Thursday.

Despite serious opposition from Belgium's more conservative minority, the changes are widely expected to pass.

Laws addressing voluntary euthanasia, also called assisted suicide, are currently established in 18 countries worldwide with varying restrictions on the practice, some outright outlawing it. In the U.S., the legality of euthanasia is up to state legislation, where "assisted suicide" is legal only in Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Montana, and "euthanasia" is illegal in all 50 states. The differences between these terms also differs state by state. Non-voluntary suicide is illegal world-wide.

If the proposed legal changes are passed at the end of this week, Belgium will be the first country in the world with laws that permit voluntary euthanasia among minors.