So far the Netherlands and Belgium are the only EU-member states granting minors the right to active Euthanasia. Luxembourg was the third country to adopt a law concerning Euthanasia: Since 2009 minors with a minimum age of 16 can request active Euthanasia provided that they have parental approval.

The Dutch version of this law came into force in April 2002, its scope includes patients aged 12 to 18. In order for the attending physician not to be prosecuted in the event of actively assisted suicide, conditions are the same as the ones applying to patients of full age. These diligence standards include requirements that the physician should have

1. become convinced that the patient had made a voluntary and well-considered request; 
2. become convinced that the patient had no prospect of improvement, and was experiencing unbearable suffering; 
3. informed the patient about his or her condition and prospects; 
4. come to the conclusion in consultation with the patient that there was no other reasonable solution given the patient's situation; 
5. consulted at least one other independent physician, who had seen the patient and provided a written opinion on the criteria of due care, as described in items a) to d), and 
6. performed the euthanasia or assisted suicide with due medical diligence.

Furthermore there are different levels of parental involvement required once a minor expresses their wish to commit assisted suicide: If the minor’s age is between 16 and 18 the physician may correspond to the minor’s request if the parents or the legal guardian have been participating in the preceding decision-making process. If the patient is aged between 12 and 18 parental approval is required. 

Since a legal amendment in February 2014, Belgium is the first European state allowing active Euthanasia for humans of any age. The arrangement in effect since 2002, allowing active euthanasia for patients from age 18 onwards, was thereby extended to all age groups. Minors of all ages thus have the possibility to request assistance in suicide from their attending physician. The new regulation however is tied to certain criteria: These include the child’s explicit request, the parental approval, the patient’s degree of pain being medically classified as “intolerable” and a psychological report confirming the patient’s full soundness of mind and power of judgment. In addition to that, regular rules concerning active Euthanasia apply. 

The amendment encountered criticism both within and outside of Belgium. Representatives of various religious communities, patient associations as well as pediatricians protested against the expansion of active Euthanasia, claiming that children could not decide upon the termination of their own lives.