According to a new report from officials in Belgium, the country has now legally euthanized three children ages 11, 12 and 17. Their deaths occurred over a period starting in 2016, after the country passed the only law in the world that allows children to be euthanized.
Each of the children was suffering from a very serious illness.
Thousands of other non-minors have been voluntarily euthanized in the country.
According to the law, a child in the country must be “in a hopeless medical situation of constant and unbearable suffering that cannot be eased and which will cause death in the short term.” They must also express their desire to be killed by medical professionals in writing, and undergo physical and mental evaluations.
The laws which allow for euthanasia, and euthanasia for children, have been extremely controversial in the country, and have sparked outrage among some religious leaders there.