Teenagers in the Netherlands can now ask psychiatrists not just for therapy, but for a medically arranged death—and a single doctor has become the lightning rod for that shift. In the Atlantic, Charles Lane profiles Menno Oosterhoff, a 70-year-old Dutch child psychiatrist who has overseen euthanasia for a dozen patients, including the world's first minors legally put to death solely for mental illness, at ages 16 and 17. Dutch law allows euthanasia for minors as young as 12 with parental consent—only parental consultation is required for those ages 16 and 17—if their suffering is deemed "unbearable" and untreatable. But applying that standard to mental illness, where prognosis is murky and recovery unpredictable, has shaken even supporters of assisted dying.
Lane uses Oosterhoff's story—and that of 17-year-old Milou Verhoof, whose widely watched TV documentary framed her euthanasia as an act of respect and relief—to explore a system where death can become an option after years of failed mental-health care. Supporters see autonomy and compassion, but critics warn of a "social contagion" effect, weak oversight, gender disparities (twice as many women as men attempt suicide in the Netherlands), and a profession drifting toward offering death in place of treatment. Efforts to tighten the rules—like raising the minimum age or imposing a temporary ban—have so far failed politically. The piece focuses on a thorny question: whether a suicidal teenager with a psychiatric illness can ever truly choose freely. Read it in full here.
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