A 17-year-old has committed doctor-assisted suicide

A 17-year-old has committed doctor-assisted suicide in Belgium, the first minor to do so under rules adopted in 2014 allowing euthanasia for people of all ages, the head of the national committee for euthanasia said on Saturday.

Belgium legalized euthanasia for people with "constant and unbearable physical or mental suffering that cannot be alleviated" in 2002. It expanded its euthanasia law to cover all children under the age of 18 in 2014. In order to be euthanized, children must be able to understand what it means and get consent from their parent or guardian and "death must be expected in the near future."

Belgium is the only country in the world that allows euthanasia without age restriction. Euthanasia laws vary by country. Laws in Belgium, the Netherlands, Colombia and Luxemburg allow mercy deaths for adults, which usually means a doctor administering lethal doses of barbiturates. The Netherlands allows it for children older than 12. Switzerland, Germany, Japan and Canada, doctor-assisted suicide, where people take the final action themselves, is legal.

In the ten years to 2013, the number of euthanasia cases in Belgium rose from about 1,000 to 8,752, according to official records. To undergo euthanasia, the minor must also be in a "terminal medical situation with constant and unbearable physical pain which cannot be assuaged and that will cause death in the short term", the law says.