The Belgian Senate has passed a bill authorising euthanasia for incurably ill minors suffering unbearable physical pain. The Senate voted 50-17 in favour of the legislation, which set no minimum age but said the patient must be able to understand the decision and both parents must agree to it. Belgian religious leaders last month denounced the planned extension of Belgium’s 2002 euthanasia law. The bill must now be passed by the Chamber of Deputies, which is expected in the next few months.
Belgium passed a law decriminalising euthanasia for terminally ill people over the age of 18 in 2002. If passed, the latest bill would make Belgium the first country in the world to remove any age limit on the practice.
In October the Archbishop of Brussels, Andre-Joseph Leonard, condemned the legislation, saying euthanasia undermined social solidarity. "Belgian law does not allow minors to sign business contracts, marry or sign documents with binding requirements in the future, but with this law, if passed, they will be able to decide to die even without the consent of their parents," he added.
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