WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Parents in the Netherlands who don't like their child can have it legally euthanised after birth.
OUR VERDICT
False. Babies can only be legally euthanised under strict medical criteria with rigourous reviews of all cases.
AAP FACTCHECK - Parents cannot legally euthanise babies simply because they don't like them in the Netherlands, despite social media claims.
Dutch regulations only allow euthanasia for newborns in cases where they face incurable and unbearable suffering due to a medical condition.
The claim appears in a Facebook post featuring a video of a Dutch man criticising his government's euthanasia policies with overlay text that reads: "Australia. Listen this is scary."
"We are also allowing the euthanasia of children up to one years old (sic)," the man says at the beginning of the video.
"So if you don't like your child, you can get rid of it after it's been born."
The claims in the video, which was originally posted on X on April 16, are false.
Newborn babies can be legally euthanised in the Netherlands under a regulation in force since 2007, but only under strict medical conditions with rigorous oversight and review conditions.
A Dutch government website states that the conditions are that a child must be facing "unbearable" suffering "with no prospect of improvement".
A doctor and the child's parents must be convinced there is "no reasonable alternative solution given the child's situation".
At least one additional, independent doctor must examine the child and give a written opinion on whether the procedure would comply with the criteria.
"There must be no doubt about the diagnosis and prognosis," the website states.
Terminations also involve a number of reviews, including by public prosecutors, according to the government website.
After the child has been terminated, the doctor must notify a municipal pathologist, who alerts the Dutch Public Prosecution Service, which approves a funeral.
The pathologist must review whether the doctor involved acted appropriately and report to a Central Expert Committee, which passes its findings to prosecutors.
They can then decide if any legal action needs to be taken against the doctor who performed the termination.
Eduard Verhagen, a pediatrician at the University of Groningen who helped develop the criteria, said very few babies had been euthanised under the regulations.
"Parental preference is not a criterion for life-ending in newborns," Professor Verhagen told AAP FactCheck.
"The claim you investigate is false."
AAP FactCheck has previously debunked claims about children and Dutch euthanasia laws.
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