Belgium votes to legalise euthanasia for children despite protest from 160 doctors

Controversial law will allow terminally ill youngsters to request to die early

Lawmakers vote by 86 to 44 in favour of the measure with 12 abstentions



Only those with incurable illnesses and in unbearable pain will be eligible



Campaigners argue sick children may be pressured into ending their life

But those in favour say the law will be strict enough to prevent any abuse



Belgium last night became the first country in the world to allow the mercy killing of young children.

Until yesterday, the youngest age at which euthanasia was permitted anywhere was 12 – in the Netherlands.

But last night Belgian MPs went much further. They voted overwhelmingly to scrap age limits altogether, meaning that terminally-ill children – no matter how young they are – will be able to legally end their lives with the help of a doctor.

Scroll down for video



World first: Members of Belgium's lower house of parliament gather for an historic vote on whether to legalise euthanasia for children of any age Anticipation: Visitors look down from the balcony as Belgian politicians gather for the vote

Historic moment: Children appear anxious as they look down from the public gallery ahead of the vote

The new law is hedged with restrictions in an effort to ensure that the scheme cannot be abused. They include the stipulation that the parents have to agree to the killing.

But opponents, including religious leaders, opposition MPs and many paediatricians, say there is no way to stop the child euthanasia law being abused, and no way to ensure that a child had made a lucid decision to die.

One man in the public gallery shouted ‘murderers’ in French when the vote was announced.

Last night Dignity in Dying, the leading campaigners in the UK for assisted suicide, dismissed fears that the mercy killing of children could come to Britain.

‘We campaign for a change in the law to allow the choice of assisted dying to terminally ill, mentally competent adults…not the euthanasia laws practised in the Benelux countries,’ a spokesman said. ‘The law change being debated in Belgium goes well beyond what Dignity in Dying advocate.’

But Elspeth Chowdharay-Best of euthanasia opponents Alert, said the experience of Belgium shows that any legalisation of assisted suicide was the thin end of the wedge.

‘We are often accused of hysteria when we warn the public that attempts in this country to legalise assisted suicide and euthanasia will put us on a slippery slope to unspeakable horrors,’ she said.



‘Yet in Belgium, which legalised euthanasia in 2003, we have seen the killings of patients who have not requested it and we have seen it extended to the disabled, the depressed, to prisoners and now we will see it extended to children. This is an appalling development.’

Debate: The child euthanasia legislation appears to have wide support in Belgium, though it has also led to street protests backed by a number of prominent paediatricians

Concerns: Those not in favour of the legislation fear sick and vulnerable children may be pressured into ending their lives by parents or guardians who consider them a burden

Euthanasia is only allowed in over-18s in Belgium at present. People must be terminally ill and close to death, with very little chance that medicine can help them.

In extending the law to children, extra restrictions have been imposed. Parents must give their consent, and a psychiatrist must stipulate the child is conscious of their decision – a ‘state of discernment’.

Polls show the public is 75 per cent in favour of the legislation. But during debates in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, opponents said the law was rushed and lacking medical rationale.

Argument: Protesters gather in the hope of influencing Belgian politicians before the vote on child euthanasia

Not in favour: Although one opinion poll found 75 per cent of Belgians agreed with and supported the changes, there has also been a vocal opposition



Sonja Becq, an MP for the Christian Democrats, said modern science is capable of relieving pain in very sick children until their illnesses runs their natural course. The MP said the proposal was full of holes, asking: ‘Can you tell me what a “state of discernment” means?’

And Christian Brotcorne, head of a French-speaking centrist group in parliament, asked: ‘What will happen if the parents disagree with each other?’ Daniel Bacquelaine, of the centrist Reform Movement, tried to assuage their fears. ‘Where there is the smallest doubt about the discernment of the child, the question of euthanasia will not be posed,’ he said.

Against: This week, an open letter carrying the names of 160 Belgian pediatricians was issued to argue against the new law, claiming there is no urgent need for it

However Dr Van Berlaer estimates only a handful of Belgian children, all in their teenage years, would be able to make use of the new euthanasia restrictions each year

Young protesters ask the House of Representatives to give child euthanasia the red card

Philippe Mahoux, a Socialist and the Bill’s main sponsor, said: ‘What we are giving them is the possibility to die with dignity, without suffering, without intolerable pain.’

The measure was approved by 86 votes to 44 by the Chamber of Representatives. It has been backed by the upper house and all that is needed for it to become legal is the signature of King Philippe, normally a formality.

The architect of Holland’s pioneering euthanasia law has been murdered in a garage at her home. Dr Els Borst, 81, health minister from 1994 to 2002, was probably attacked by a burglar.

Four years ago, she said she regretted pushing through the euthanasia law in 2001 because of the damage it had done to the hospice movement in Holland.