Event: Hermans

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.Physician-assisted death for terminally ill children in that age group has been allowed in the country since 2024.Sophie Hermans, the minister of health, welfare and sport in the Netherlands, in 2025.Credit...Nicolas Tucat/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesJune 26, 2026A doctor in the Netherlands assisted in the death of a terminally ill child aged between 1 and 12 for the first time, a Dutch minister told lawmakers.Sophie Hermans, the minister of health, welfare and sport, disclosed the death in a letter this week to the Dutch House of Representatives. Assistance in death for children in this age range has been legal under certain rules since 2024.She wrote that it had been reported late last year to an expert committee that reviews such cases, and was its first notification for a child between 1 and 12.Ms. Hermans’s letter referred to “a termination of life” without giving specifics. The government did not release any details about the child or the child’s illness, and declined additional comment.The committee, which meets every two months, discussed the case and heard from the physician in question during its first meetings of 2026, according to the letter.As required by the law, the committee reviewed the doctor’s actions to determine whether the procedure was in accordance with the rules. Public prosecutors will review the case and make an independent judgment as well. Those conclusions were not yet made public.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.Related…