A Child’s Right to Die: Analysis of Danny Bond’s Case

A law recently passed in Belgium allows certain terminally ill children to choose euthanasia. Discuss whether it is ethically acceptable for children to have the right to the assistance of a caregiver.

Danny Bond was born with a bowel disease that caused him excruciating pain. At thirteen years old, he started talking about killing himself. Indeed, he did try to kill himself three times. When his mother resuscitated him after his third suicide attempt, he told her that she had let him down by saving him. His condition worsened shortly after he turned twenty-one, and he told his parents that he wanted to die and that he wanted their help. But they knew that assisting him would be a crime.