Belgian lawmakers on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to extend euthanasia law to children under 18. Belgian lawmakers had earlier clashed sharply over whether to grant terminally ill children the right to ask to die, a legal option already possessed by the country’s adults.
The issue is pitting backers who see it as a question of mercy against opponents who claim the law is rushed, flawed and lacking medical rationale. Despite the spirited debate in the House of Representatives, the Bill is widely expected to pass on Thursday. “Our responsibility is to allow everybody to live, but also to die, in dignity,” said Karine lalieux, a Socialist member, who favors extending Belgium’s 2002 euthanasia law to minors, with the added conditions that their parents approve and understand what the decision means.
Sonja Becq, a Christian Democratic colleague, said modern-day science is capable of relieving pain in very sick children until their illnesses runs their natural course. “We cannot accept euthanasia be presented as a happy ending,” she said. Belgium sets legal limits on who can acquire cigarettes and alcohol, so why not for euthanasiaIJ