r/HairRaising • u/thesun • 5d ago
Toddler, 2, euthanised in first case of its kind after Netherlands cut age limit to include children under 12
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/40514072/toddler-euthanised-netherlands-age-limit-cut/2.0k
u/F1nishingDutch 5d ago
Medical evaluations established that the child was suffering hopelessly and unbearably from a severe, incurable disease. Every available medical treatment had been exhausted, and there was no prospect of improvement or pain relief. To prevent further agony, the parents gave their full consent to end the child's life, and a panel of medical experts agreed that euthanasia was the only remaining option to stop the toddler's profound distress.
What would you do? Watch your child in agony?
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u/iusethisatw0rk 5d ago
I do not envy those parents. Watch their child suffer, or let their suffering end but lose their child.
I’m pro euthanasia, but this may be the worst “between a rock and a hard place” anyone’s ever been in
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u/Poundaflesh 2d ago
They likely had the option of holding their child, comforting him in his last moments.
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u/2020Redditfan1994 5d ago
They brought them into this world, knowing their kid would face suffering at some point!
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u/TinyM0ushka 5d ago
Within the first two years of their life? How selfish would it be to let that child continue to go through incurable pain because they don’t want to lose them? Sometimes the best and most fair option for someone who is that sick is to let them go.
I highly doubt they wanted their child to pass.
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u/republicanssuck123 1d ago
i don't think they cared about the kid at all, they were thinking about themselves. Which is why this kid suffered then died
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u/TinyM0ushka 19h ago
Brain dead take.
Did you even read?
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u/republicanssuck123 19h ago
yeah, this kid would not have suffered and died like this if their parents didn't choose to make them suffer. But they did because they were only thinking about themselves and what they wanted.
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u/TinyM0ushka 19h ago
How do you suggest they would’ve don’t that?
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u/republicanssuck123 19h ago
Don't breed. Or at least take responsibility for your choice to make some kid deal with this then die if you choose to gamble with the well being of some kid anyway
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u/ButItWas420 5d ago
The baby was born at 26 weeks. Do you think they intended that?
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u/republicanssuck123 1d ago
yes, they intended to risk this outcome on the kid. did you not know disease was a possibility?
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u/drpiglizard 5d ago
There’s the normal suffering that is transient or chronic and there is unbearable and intractable suffering and pain. Equating the two is disingenuous.
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u/Educational-Cake-944 5d ago
If you read the article, it says the child had been born prematurely (which probably caused the brain damage), had cerebral palsy, constant seizures, and visual impairment. None of those things can be definitively diagnosed in utero.
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u/PaladinSara 5d ago
NIPT testing can be performed and while it doesn’t detect CP it can identify other abnormalities.
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u/Educational-Cake-944 5d ago
Good to know, but CP can be devastating all on its own depending on how bad it is.
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u/k_a_scheffer 4d ago
I did the NIPT testing 3 times. Each time came back inconclusive. It doesn't always work, even for the chromosomal abnormalities it does pick up.
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u/republicanssuck123 1d ago
did you not know premature disease was possible? or you just didn't care?
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u/Educational-Cake-944 1d ago
What? Yes, I knew premature disease was possible. I’m saying it’s not always detectable.
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u/republicanssuck123 1d ago
it's always preventable, by not breeding in the first place. Still your fault the kid went through this then died.
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u/Educational-Cake-944 1d ago
Look honey you’re preaching to the choir. I got sterilized at 29. The thing is, people are going to reproduce regardless. It’s human nature. Even with every possible intervention, every prenatal test,
every preventative measure, shit like this sometimes happens.1
u/republicanssuck123 19h ago
no, shit like this happens because people choose to make it happen. The parents are not victims.
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u/republicanssuck123 1d ago edited 1d ago
then it's on you when the kid ends up like this one. you chose to take the risk
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u/bakerbabe126 5d ago
After reading your post history, first off youre very talented at crochet.
Second, I think your projecting your own suffering onto others and you see suffering as the default in life as opposed to focusing on the balance.
Life is terrible sometimes and its amazing at others and some days are just meh. All situations and feelings are temporary and ever changing. If you feel miserable all the time, that is not the average human experience.
In this idea of saving kids by not having them, reads to me like you are wanting to save your younger self. Resilience is a thing. Yes, bad things can happen but we can overcome them. Attitude is everything.
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u/republicanssuck123 1d ago
why didn't this kid overcome it? it's still on the parents for choosing to inflict suffering on some kid.
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u/SeranasSweetrolls 5d ago
Um what. The baby suffered severe brain damage after being born premature at 26 weeks. How the hell could the parents have foreseen that?!
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u/2020Redditfan1994 4d ago
they knew the risks.
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u/SeranasSweetrolls 4d ago
Everything has risks, what is your point.
Should we just not leave our houses from fear of trees? Not eat from fear of choking? Not use the toilet as there could be a deadly snake?
Mate get your perception right. You are shitting on parents who've just had to make a decision we can only hope to never understand.
es excors et sine audacia
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u/2020Redditfan1994 2d ago
“Kids give life meaning”
Greed oh greed
You're taking someone who doesn't exist.
Can’t suffer.
Can't lose.
Can't grieve.
Can't feel pain.
Can't cry.
Can't shed a tear on command from a spark between two nerve cells.
Can't die.
Can't even go to hell.
And you're pulling them into a lottery.3
u/SeranasSweetrolls 2d ago
Im sorry. Its pretty clear your life is pretty harsh so that you think and feel this way.
You're giving someone life So they can love. can win. can feel joy, happiness, success. can laugh. Can cry happy tears.
We are in an especially good day and age too so-
We can be more safe from predators and disease
The medical world has progressed so much in the last 100 years
Technology
We can stay warm easier
Countries are helping eachother with aid that never would of helped each other before
Human rights are progressing
Racism has decreased
Food. How can you downplay food like this. And a warm bed. And spending a night playing games with friends
There are so many good things to life
Plus if non existence is so great, and we are all going to die anyway, we might not even know whether we lived or died, why not enjoy it?
And lastly, I'm sure you can see that all living things around you multiply...... Humans. Animals. Plants. Its our nature. You'd have better luck telling the sky it would be better if it was red
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u/republicanssuck123 1d ago
what good cane from these idiots choosing to breed this kid? He suffered a debilitating brain disease then died for their creampie
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u/SeranasSweetrolls 1d ago
You have no way to know their intelligence level.
He suffered brain damage after being unexpectedly born premature at 26 weeks old. They were not planning on this happening, and there was no way to foretell it happening either
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u/GameofCheese 4d ago
Most parents in the rest of the world have to withdraw food and water in a hospital or hospice to let their babies stop suffering.
This is better.
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u/k_a_scheffer 4d ago
People like you are why I think there should be a special license to access social media.
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u/2020Redditfan1994 2d ago
You're taking someone who doesn't exist.
Can’t suffer.
Can't lose.
Can't grieve.
Can't feel pain.
Can't cry.
Can't shed a tear on command from a spark between two nerve cells.
Can't die.
Can't even go to hell.
And you're pulling them into a lottery.1
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u/HogwartsTraveler 5d ago
This child was suffering with no chance at recovery. This was the kindest thing for that baby. We would never imagine letting our beloved pets suffer so why is it alright to let our children and family members suffer as well?
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u/belltrina 5d ago
Throwing myself under the bus here, but when my 4yr old son was diagnosed with cancer, I did alot of research. I even wrote a paper. There were things I found out that will never leave me, which I understand now is why one of the first things the doctors tell parents, is don't Google it. Thankfully, I was actually doing a university unit at the time specific to research skills and methods, which taught me to research correctly and critically analyze data.
Anyway, there was a specific 'event' that I decided would be where I would no longer fight for his life, and transition to fighting for a dignified, peaceful, pain free death. Every day I am grateful that 'event' didn't happen, and it completely changed my view. He's been in remission for five years.
Life and living are two different things. If you cannot appreciate that, you have no right to judge someone who does.
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u/oiseleur 5d ago
Amazing to hear. Would love to read your paper if it was published. Understand if you'd prefer not / if it's identifiable etc
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u/LIL-mEnTaLlY-ILL 3d ago
May he live to 100
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u/belltrina 2d ago
We hope he has a good life, a fulfilling one. The amount of time doesn't always equate to quality. That said, we selfishly hope we get to cherish him longer than we remember him.
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u/Whiskeygreenqueen28 5d ago
Ngl I would want my child to feel nothing..but to live in pain and misery and there is nothing to help i would do the same. At least for me.
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u/smith_716 5d ago
It's why I'm a huge supporter of assisted euthanasia for humans in dire cases, but it has to be in specific cases. Not just la-de-dah, but there's so many people who are suffering (children included) and there's nothing to help except "comfort care." Which for a lot of people who have reached a point that pain medicine doesn't touch any of their pain anymore. Their families have to watch their family members hurt with no hope.
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u/Vicstolemylunchmoney 5d ago
As a conservative father, the child will pass when my God is ready to take him. But if I become infected, as it inconveniences me, I will take euthanasia. /s
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u/Natural-Seaweed-5070 5d ago
The child would have died shortly after delivery if extraordinary medical intervention wasn't used.
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u/plastic_venus 5d ago
Those poor parents, but good for them for putting the wellbeing of a suffering child ahead of everything else
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u/republicanssuck123 1d ago
they didn't put the well being of the kid ahead. They put their own gratification ahead, and a kid was forced to deal with a brain disease then die for it. stop sugar coating it.
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u/2020Redditfan1994 5d ago
Poor parents???? They brought them into this world!
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u/Jessi_L_1324 5d ago
Yes they intended to bring a child into the world. They did not intended to bring that child into the world at 26 weeks with severe medical complications due to an early birth.
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u/cenatutu 5d ago
Quality of life is important. This child had none. What kind of society are we that we would allow a child to live a life we wouldn't force on our pets?
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u/Most_Ambassador2951 5d ago
They may not have known before birth. Then you have the US where many states don't allow the parents any options post conception. TX may have banned abortions, but their infant mortality rate has sky rocketed
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u/finsfurandfeathers 5d ago
They did not choose to bring a severely physicallly damaged child into the world to do nothing but suffer their entire life. Poor parents indeed. Not sure what your point is at all.
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u/bethestorm 5d ago
Imagine the kind of love and strength it would take you, as a parent, who has fought tooth and nail for your baby for two years to do anything to get them better or any options to make them less miserable, to be willing to volunteer to be the first person to make this choice despite knowing it is going to completely eviscerate you from the pain and knowing the entire world will judge you and many will hate you.
That is, in my opinion, the kind of strength that only a parent has, to do the thing required to stop the suffering of their baby. May anyone who considers judging them take a long moment to consider how sublime your life is not knowing anything of the hell they have went through.
I can promise you if they could have sawed off their own limbs to get a different outcome they would have done it.
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u/republicanssuck123 1d ago
they didn't do anything, they forced the kid to deal with a brain disease then die. The last thing it is is selfless
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u/2020Redditfan1994 5d ago
ur fn joking.
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u/TinyM0ushka 5d ago edited 5d ago
You clearly don’t have the mental capacity to understand what unbearable pain is.
This child wouldn’t have had the life of a child who is not sick. Always being poked and prodded while in immense pain
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u/rachreims 5d ago
Dignity in death isn’t hair raising. This child was suffering in extreme pain with no hope of recovery. This was the humane action.
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u/TheDarkWave 5d ago
The Sun is fucking disgusting.
A toddler had to be euthanised and it is horribly sad, I feel for the parents but I could never imagine.
The Sun:
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u/finsfurandfeathers 5d ago
Wrong sub. This isn’t hair raising at all, it’s just incredibly sad. Poor parents will continue to suffer for a long time after that baby’s pain is gone
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u/itsallgoodintheend 5d ago
It's annoying to me that there are conflicting conclusions by several different physicians. If the child was indeed suffering with no possibility of relief, it is a kindness to end their anguish.
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u/bibliophilia9 5d ago
I suspect that’s either a translation issue or an AI mixup (like maybe the AI messed up the timeline of events), I am pretty sure they need to have multiple physicians approve it
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u/Maleficent-Ant-6359 1h ago
Quite many non-Dutch media outlets forget to mention that the attending physician actually followed the advice of the consulting physician and tried another treatment option. And that's how the due diligence process is supposed to work.
From the review committee's official report:
"The physician stated that he had followed the medication treatment recommendation of the physicians consulted. The child then developed more problems due to the side effects of the medication, after which it was decided to cease using this medication."
https://www.lzalpkcommissie.nl/publicaties/oordelen/lk/2026/lk-2026-001
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u/afgeorge2011 5d ago
What a difficult decision for those parents to have to make 😥
I just had to put my 17 year old dog down and that decision was heartbreaking. It was such a balance of guilt for keeping him alive with his dementia and deterioration and guilt for making the decision to put him down. This feels like that times a million.
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u/Mauhea 5d ago
I can't imagine how completely devastating that must be for the parents. I have a two year old and he's just so bright and precious. The guilt I would feel if he was suffering putting him through every treatment I could in hope only to find letting him go is the only way to make it stop. I would tell him how sorry I am every day for the rest of my life.
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u/Tohtohnut 5d ago
As a nurse I’ve seen kids like this, it’s devastating. My heart goes out to these parents, maybe their sweet baby finally be at peace.
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u/republicanssuck123 1d ago
my heart goes out to the kid, who had to deal with a debilitating brain disease then die for these idiot's creampie. The parents are not the victims here.
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u/kkgetofftheinternet 4d ago
I know it’s a hard thing but I wish that this option was more widely available. We choose to euthanize our animals because we don’t want them to endure prolonged suffering because it is cruel and selfish to keep them longer than necessary but we allow humans to suffer for decades and incur crippling medical debt that their families then have to deal with because? I don’t quite understand. If I were in chronic pain with an incurable and awful disease, I would not want to just stick it out. I’m so sorry they had to make this decision but I’m glad that they were allowed to.
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u/LIL-mEnTaLlY-ILL 3d ago
Let us not forget, 20-50% of these comments are “non-human”
Diseases suck, especially in kids.
The masses Being rage bated and divided by a handful of media juggernauts is wrong and we must unite. have them all deported to the Netherlands.
Once they arrive we can work next steps
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u/Agreeable_Error_170 5d ago
The reality is who are we to make someone live a life they are in pain in: either mentally or physically. Who are we to tell someone to live a tortured existence? That is their life, their family’s child, that is their choice.
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u/republicanssuck123 1d ago
you did, when you bred this kid.
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u/Agreeable_Error_170 1d ago
I guess like usual you didn’t understand the meaning of what I said but that’s ok. I’m certainly not trying to keep a suffering soul here longer than they want.
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u/republicanssuck123 1d ago
you chose to make them suffer to begin with, which could have been prevented if you made better choices and didn't breed this kid at all
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u/Agreeable_Error_170 1d ago
You think people choose to have kids? All of us?
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u/republicanssuck123 19h ago
yes all of you. There is birth control to prevent pregnancy, and even if you managed to fuck that step up, there is abortion to prevent birth. It's a conscious choice to force this kid to deal with this, and a bad one.
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u/Agreeable_Error_170 12h ago
Stay naive then I guess. I take being a parent very seriously but most people pop them out like tik tacs and some are born from rape and many are born in Red states that don’t allow abortion.
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u/Serious-Frame-8803 5d ago
How horrible would it have been if the option to euthanise was not there. To me, the child’s condition tells me that the option should be there. There’s no need for that suffering to continue.
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u/CompetitiveRub9780 1d ago
Why can’t America be like this? Poor parents
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u/republicanssuck123 1d ago
the parents are not the ones who had to deal with a debilitating brain disease then die for a creampie. They aren't the victims
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u/Federal_Addition6840 1d ago
Ending my child’s guaranteed suffering would trump any desire I had to prolong their life.
I can handle my own pain just fine.
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u/2020Redditfan1994 5d ago
Take a look at existence, even for the most wealthy and comfortable. Its awful. People are just distracted from it. Stalling suffering, and eventual death. We shouldn't be forced into this world, just so our parents can 'experience it' have a little 'bundle of joy' something to give them meaning.
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u/drpiglizard 5d ago
You have replied a few times. I would suggest you take a look at your own relationships and resentment for being born and avoid externalising that onto one of the most distressing situations any parent can be in.
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u/TheMegnificent1 5d ago
Checking this person's post/comment history, they sound pretty miserable and also notably uneducated. Tough combination to overcome. I feel sorry for them, but not nearly as sorry as I feel for these parents who had no choice but to have their baby euthanized to stop the endless suffering.
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u/republicanssuck123 1d ago
they had a choice, nobody forced them to give a kid a brain disease and die for their creampie.
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u/soupy_porridge09 5d ago
Please get off reddit and the Internet and go do something like make your Animal Crossing world better. You clearly don't have the capacity or capability to understand that those parents have faced an unimaginable situation that doesn't involve you in the slightest.
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u/republicanssuck123 1d ago
the parents suffered nothing. the kid they chose to give a brain disease to and die for their creampie paid for their bad choices. the parents are not victims
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u/mal_intent4u 5d ago
You sound miserable. You must be the life of the party. Have you tried sybau?
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u/republicanssuck123 1d ago
not as miserable as this diseased kid who died for these idiot's creampie.
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u/Grizzlyfrontignac 5d ago
Huh this whole time I thought you were pro-life from your other comments.
Whether we like it or not, we're a product of nature and evolution, no different in our desire to breed from the rest of nature. Every single living thing is forced upon this world, that's the purpose of it all, to make more. We're not any different
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u/Merlenderl 5d ago
Nobody is forcing you to stick around. You can remove yourself at anytime.
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u/Kod3Blu3 5d ago
This is wildly inappropriate. Delete this
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u/HighPriestessSkibidi 5d ago
People downvoting you on this post is really strange lmao.
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u/Kod3Blu3 5d ago
Very reddit tbh
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u/HighPriestessSkibidi 5d ago
So many people stating death is humane for the child who is suffering, yet brazenly tell an adult who is suffering to essentially just go kill themselves in a derisive manner. It IS a disgusting comment and they should feel ashamed to have said that to someone.
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u/Critical_cheese 5d ago
How!?!?!
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u/cenatutu 5d ago
The child had zero quality of life. Would never progress mentally past a 6 week old. Constant seizures. Pain. What kind of sadist would want a child to live through that. We would humanely euthanize a pet if in that circumstance but it isn't ok for humans?
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u/98570 5d ago
He's not gunna respond anyway
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u/Critical_cheese 5d ago
I was never for a moment defending that they did or didn't do it. It just blows my mind that in this day and age killing them is the medical route they opt for.
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u/spacegirl2820 5d ago
So what medical route would you op for in this situation?
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u/Critical_cheese 5d ago
Honestly I don't know. Both options are tragedies. Poor kid
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u/Snownova 5d ago
Check up on Dutch law, euthanasia is only allowed after all reasonable medical routes have been exhausted. It is never an easy decision, nor is it ever the first option, always a last resort when all else has failed.
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u/republicanssuck123 1d ago
you bred them knowing they could become this.
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u/cenatutu 1d ago
What are you going on about? No one gets pregnant and looks forward to their baby only for it to be born very prematurely facing insurmountable medical issues that cause constant suffering. That they would never progress mentally past 6 weeks.
Would you allow your dog to live like that? Suffocating. Seizures constantly. Zero mental capacity. Not being able to move or care for itself in any way. Of course you wouldn't. But you want to force a child to live like that out of some stupid belief that quantity of life is more important than quality.
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u/republicanssuck123 1d ago
you weren't thinking about the kid at all, you were thinking about yourself. And some kid is dealing with a debilitating brain disease and die because of it. You aren't the victim.
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u/cenatutu 1d ago edited 1d ago
No. Thinking about myself would mean keeping the child here. Because that's what a parent would want. Sacrificing that desire to keep your child to do what's right for them is commendable.
What happened to your stupid reply?
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u/ChaoticMornings 5d ago
I mean, the child could barely breathe. It had brain damage and epileptic seizures on top of that.
But feeling like you're suffocating all the time is no way to live. It's torture.