Belgium set to extend ‘right-to-die’ to terminally ill children

By Robert-Jan Bartunek BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Belgium was due to become the first country to allow euthanasia for terminally ill children of any age on Thursday when its lower house of parliament votes on new "right-to-die" legislation. The draft law, which has already cleared the Belgian Senate, goes beyond pioneering Dutch legislation that set a minimum age of 12 for children judged mature enough to decide to end their lives. The bill has popular support in Belgium, where adult euthanasia became legal in 2002. The Christian Democrats, although members of Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo's coalition, oppose the bill.