Dutch government backs euthanasia for children under the age of 12

The government of Netherlands has approved plans which will permit doctors to legally euthanise children below the age of 12. Dutch Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said the new policy was necessary to help “a small group of terminally ill children who agonise with no hope, and unbearable suffering,” The Guardian reported. The county, which has one of the most liberal euthanasia policies in the world, already allows young people between the ages of 12 and 18 to opt for the procedure as long as consent is given by the patient and their parents, The Guardian reported. The rule also applies for babies below the age of one. The issue has sparked months of debate in the four-party ruling...