Should the Euthanasia Act in Belgium Include Minors?

Abstract

In 2014, Belgium became the first country in the world to legislate euthanasia for children. The decision evoked questions and criticisms in Belgium and in the world at large: should children have the right to ask to die? Are children able to make reasoned and independent choices on such an important matter? Does maturity matter? Are children as autonomous as adults? Is it a logical move to grant terminally ill children who are in intolerable pain this right? What happens if there is a conflict of wishes between the child and parents? This article argues that these questions should be addressed while legislators are fully aware of the relevant medical data regarding child development. The article weighs arguments for and against euthanasia for children, dis cussing patients' autonomy, competence, age and maturity, pressure and abuse, and palliative care. It is suggested that the option of pediatric palliative care should be exhausted before proceeding to euthanasia, and that psychological counselling be made available to both children and guardians. It is further argued that the law should explicate the age of children, and that it should insist on consensus between children and parents.

Pravna regulacija eutanazije i medicinski potpomognutog samoubojstva u pojedinim europskim zemljama

“…14 Pravna klasifikacija temeljena na namjeri liječnika i pristanku pacijenta ne uspijeva jasno odvojiti usmrćenje od medicinske skrbi. 15 Namjera liječnika može biti teško dokaziva jer isti lijek može biti korišten za liječenje simptoma bolesti i kod primjene eutanazije, a ishod je isti -smrt pacijenta. Stoga je razlikovanje namjere da se pacijent oslobodi patnje od namjere prouzročenja smrti nemoguća misija sve dok doza analgetika nije iznimno 10 Pasivnu eutanaziju u kaznenopravnom smislu može počiniti samo garant, odnosno osoba koja je zakonom obvezna spriječiti nastup posljedice (smrt).…”

“…336. 15 Usp. Cantor, N. L., "On Hastening Death Without Violating Legal and Moral Prohibitions", Loyola University Chicago Law Journal, 37 (2), 2006., str.…”

Coercion

“…Laurence Steinberg explains that this is one reason that susceptibility to peer pressure declines as adolescents grow into adulthood. With maturity, individuals become better able to put the brakes on an impulse that is aroused by their friends (Steinberg, 2013: p. 261;Cohen-Almagor, 2018). But during adolescent, susceptibility to taking risks and to social pressure can be injurious.…”

Natural Death Versus Known Date-Of-Death: A Qualitative Study of Views on Voluntary Assisted Dying in an Online Course About Death

“…In some cases, VAD has been accepted practice rather than via legislation, for example in Holland and Belgium, who legalised (or rather decriminalised) euthanasia in 2002, as it had been practiced and tolerated before then (Boer, 2018; Saad, 2017). Belgium was also the first country to legislate euthanasia for children in 2014 (Cohen-Almagor, 2018). MAiD was legalised in Canada in 2016 (Brooks, 2019), and VAD was legalised in the state of Victoria, Australia in 2019 (Johnston & Cameron, 2018), which has in part motivated this work.…”