Children in extreme pain were given lethal injections

BY AMBER HICKS commission that regulates euthanasia in Belgium – said the nine-year-old had a brain tumour and the 11-year-old was suffering from cystic fibrosis.

The children would have had to make their wishes known in writing. They would then be examined by child psychiatrists to ensure they were intelligent enough to make the decision and were “not influenced by a third party”. However, parents can overrule their child’s wishes.

The pair were given the fatal injection between 2016 and 2017, along with a 17-year-old who had muscular dystrophy.

CFCEE member Luc Proot said: “I saw mental and physical suffering so overwhelming that I thought we did a good thing.”

Wim Distelmans, head of the Belgian euthanasia commission, said: “There are few children who fit the criteria but that doesn’t mean we should refuse (them) the right to die with dignity.”

Assisted dying is illegal in the UK.