Det belgiske parlament stemte torsdag med stort flertall for et forslag om euthanasi for barn. Belgia har allerede euthanasi fra 18 årsalder, men forkjemperne mente det var viktig at retten til å dø også omfattet barn.

Debattene som har vært ført i BBC har vært selsomme. En barnelege som er for loven mener barn vil kunne si fra hvis det ønsker å dø. Motstanderne svarer at barn ikke har en kognitiv bevissthet som gjør at de vet hva det vil si å dø. En sykepleierske som har pleiet 200 barn som døde, sier ingen av dem noensinne ytret ønske om å dø. Barn vil leve og helsevesenet har i dag medisiner til å lidre smerte effektivt.

Så hva er det forkjemperne for euthanasi vil oppnå? BBCs Tim Franks forsøkte å få svar på hva som vil skje hvis foreldrene er uenige? Kanskje de er skilt? Det finnes et utall kompliserte scenarier. Men disse ville ikke barnelegen som var for euthanasi gå inn på. Hun holdt seg til det generelle.

During a parliamentary debate on Wednesday, members of the Socialist Party said that giving terminally ill children the right to die was a matter of mercy and humanity. “It is our responsibility to allow everyone to live and die with dignity,” Karine Lalieux, a Socialist lawmaker, was quoted as saying by Le Soir, a Belgian newspaper.

According to a survey conducted by another newspaper, La Libre Belgique, three-quarters of the citizens in Belgium, a predominantly Roman Catholic but secular country, support granting incurably sick minors the right to die.

Opponents have pointed to the difficulty of judging whether a child, in particular one suffering incurable illness, has the mental capacity for making a request to die. They have also argued that determining a patient’s closeness to death can be a matter of opinion

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Under the measure, approved by the lower house in an 86 to 44 vote, euthanasia would be permissible for terminally ill children who are close to death, experiencing “constant and unbearable suffering” and can show a “capacity of discernment,” meaning they can demonstrate they understand the consequences of such a choice.

The measure is an amended version of a 2002 law that gave adults the right to die and extends this right to minors under the age of 18. The legislation also requires that a request for euthanasia include the written consent of a parent.