One-year-old euthanised in Netherlands

A one-year-old in the Netherlands has become the youngest known person to die by euthanasia.

The child, who died at the end of last year, had been born prematurely at 26 weeks and suffered brain damage, severe cerebral palsy, visual impairment and epilepsy. Upon the parent’s request, the child’s life was ended by gradual sedation with “coma-inducing substances”, according to a Dutch review committee report.

The report, published in September, revealed the child also had “sputum clearance problems” and “very severe developmental delay” – at almost two years old, the child’s developmental age was estimated to be that of a six-week-old baby.