[Lawmakers], Have Mercy!

Life can be very cruel, especially with children who get sick enough to die. Worse than the incredible sadness that goes along with such a tragedy is the fact that, sometimes, the disease has very painful symptoms, and death is a long time coming. Parents and immediate family are, then, in an indefinite deathwatch that breaks their hearts.

All this comes to mind because Belgium is debating whether or not to allow euthanasia for children, just as it's legal for adults. Parents there who have gone through the ordeal of seeing their children die very painfully and slowly are urging lawmakers to include minors in the law that authorizes mercy killing of those who are beyond medical help and suffer from excruciating pain that cannot be alleviated.

Let's hope that those lawmakers, and others around the world, are themselves merciful.

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