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Belgium has taken the shocking but unsurprising step of legalising euthanasia for children.
The law stipulates that the child must be terminally ill, incurably suffering and possess complete understanding of what euthanasia means.
Campaigners for “assisted dying” often point out that the majority of people would back an assisted suicide law in the UK. Possibly.
But I wonder, though, where the majority of Brits would stand on Belgium’s latest decision.
After all, this latest piece of legislation is not only about the morality of euthanasia per se. It also concerns the ethical, mental and spiritual capacity of children to make life and death decisions.
If a 10-year-old with cancer repeatedly says “Mum, Dad, I want to die” is she mentally and morally equipped to understand what she is consenting to? Continue reading.
Madeleine Teahan is Associate Editor at the Catholic Herald and chairs the Catholic Herald Podcast Debates. Her special interests include euthanasia and assisted suicide.
Source: The Catholic Herald
Image: Generation Benedict
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News category: Analysis and Comment.
