#EU #Netherlands – A Dutch review panel claimed on September 9th, 2026, that a doctor acted with due care when euthanizing a nearly 2-year-old child in late 2025, the first case under a 2024 law that allowed euthanasia for children ages 1 to 12.
The LZA-LP&K committee, which examines late-term abortions and life-ending procedures for newborns and young children, released an anonymized decision after reviewing the file and interviewing the physician. The child had been born at 26 weeks of pregnancy and suffered severe brain damage, cerebral palsy, vision loss, and frequent seizures that medicine could not control. The toddler was restless, slept very little, and struggled to breathe and swallow because of mucus in the lungs. At the time of death, doctors estimated the child’s developmental age at about six weeks, although the child was almost 24 months old. Physicians and the parents assumed the suffering was unbearable and hopeless and that the child would not live to adulthood.
Health Minister Sophie Hermans first informed lawmakers of the death in June 2026 but withheld medical details. The September ruling supplied those facts and found that an independent doctor had been consulted, that the parents’ request was voluntary and consistent, and that the child could not take part in the decision. The physician used gradually increasing doses of midazolam and morphine through an IV until the child died. The committee claimed every aspect of the child’s movement, behavior and personality had been severely and permanently damaged.
Prosecutors received the case, as they do with every reported euthanasia. By mid-September 2026 they had not yet announced whether they would bring charges. Pediatric specialists said they expected prosecutors to accept the committee’s finding and close the matter.
This incident remains the only reported instance involving a child between 1 and 12. Authorities never identified the child.
Cover Image: The Ministry of Health government building in The Hague.
