Child psychiatrists want end to assisted dying for young adults with mental illness

Professors of child and adolescent psychiatry in the Netherlands are asking colleagues to stop approving euthanasia requests from individuals under age 25 who are suffering from severe mental illness, because their brains are still developing.

Key Takeaways:

• Professors of child and adolescent psychiatry have proposed that euthanasia in the Netherlands no longer be approved for individuals under the age of 25 for mental health issues.

• In the Netherlands, euthanasia is approved for ages 12 and older, with no parental consent required beginning at age 16.

• The professors believe that since brain development has not concluded until about age 25, patients must wait to access euthanasia until they reach that age.

• Those who want euthanasia to remain accessible to young adults and teens for mental health reasons say that not allowing euthanasia for these individuals is "inappropriate" and "paternalistic."

• In the Netherlands, autism is an approved reason to request euthanasia.

The Details:

As reported by Dutch News, the authors of research published in the Dutch psychiatry journal Tijdschrift voor Psychiatrie, said they are proposing a "not now" approach to individuals with mental illness under the age of 25 who request euthanasia.

Rather than approve the requests, the professors want doctors to tell their patients that they must wait until they are older. No fixed age is given.

In addition to brain development, the professors also cited peer influence, social media, and potential improvement in treatments as reasons that young adults with mental illness should not be approved for assisted suicide.

The proposal comes as the Dutch psychiatric association NVvP revises its guidelines with four of its members in support of the new proposal.

Data show that most doctors do not participate in euthanasia for young persons when the requests are due to mental health reasons, with 45% of those requests being rejected, 47% ultimately retracted, and three percent resulting in euthanasia between 2012 and 2021.

The Other Side:

Not everyone is happy with the proposal, however. Psychiatrist Kit Vanmecheen said it is "inappropriate" and could increase suicide among young adults. But suicide is still suicide no matter how it is marketed. One that is approved by a doctor and carried out via a pharmaceutical prescription may appear less traumatic, but it's still suicide, it's still traumatic, and it's not health care.

The chairman of the KEA Foundation supporting people seeking assisted suicide for mental health reasons, Marcel Mennen, called the proposal paternalistic. His daughter died by suicide at age 31.

Zoom Out:

In the Netherlands, euthanasia is legal for 'unbearable and hopeless suffering' for individuals as young as 12 years old. Eight people under 25 died by euthanasia based on mental health concerns in 2023. In 2024, there were 13 such deaths and in 2025, there were seven.