At what age can one decide on assisted sicide?

[CCTAU]

This disturbed me a bit:

Two kids with terminal illnesses were the youngest ever people to be euthanized after Belgium authorities allowed them to decide whether to live or die.
The children, ages 9 and 11, were given lethal injections in the European country which permits children with terminal illnesses who are in “unbearable suffering” to choose to die.
The cases, which happened in 2016 and 2017, were revealed in a report by the CFCEE – the commission that regulates euthanasia in Belgium – and their ages were confirmed by a Belgian official.
It said that doctors in Belgium had given lethal injections to three children over the two-year period, including a 17-year-old who was suffering from muscular dystrophy.
The 9-year-old suffered from a brain tumor, while the 11-year-old had cystic fibrosis.
A member of the CFCEE told The Washington Post they were the first children under the age of 12 to be euthanized anywhere.
Belgium changed its euthanasia law in 2014, giving doctors the legal right to terminate the life of a child, no matter how young the patient was.
But the child must be judged to have the mental capacity to make the decision and must also have parental consent.
The initial report, published on July 17, only indicated three minors were euthanized between Jan. 1, 2016 and Dec.r 31, 2017, but only said they were under 18.
However, an official confirmed their ages to the Washington Post.
Luc Proot, a member of the CFCEE, defended the decision to allow the euthanasia cases, saying: “I saw mental and physical suffering so overwhelming that I thought we did a good thing.”
Stefaan Van Gool, a professor and child cancer specialist in Belgium, said: “There is, in fact, no objective tool today available that really can help you say ‘this child has the full competence or capacity to give with full understanding informed consent.'”
Wim Distelmans, head of the Belgian euthanasia commission countered: “Thankfully, there are very few children who fit the criteria, but that doesn’t mean that we should refuse (them) the right to die with dignity.”

https://nypost.com/2018/08/08/terminally-ill-children-ages-9-and-11-euthanized-in-belgium/

I have no problem with assisted suicide. Some people are in so much pain that life really is not life. But a kid?


How many kids do you know that if you touch them hard, they drop to the floor and act like they are dying? What is their concept of real pain?

[Kaos]

This disturbed me a bit:

I have no problem with assisted suicide. Some people are in so much pain that life really is not life. But a kid?


How many kids do you know that if you touch them hard, they drop to the floor and act like they are dying? What is their concept of real pain?

Jeez.  They haven't even had time to select their gender yet.