Regardless of age, children "capable of discernment" will soon have the right to euthanasia in Belgium after its law making body passed requisite legislation on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

The law supports terminally ill children who wish to end their suffering and is "equipped with clear checks and balances in the law to prevent abuse," Carina Van Cauter, a lawmaker for the Flemish Liberal Democrats , told Reuters.

"This is not about lethal injections for children. This is about terminally ill children, whose death is imminent and who suffer greatly," added Van Cauter.

Nothing's official until the country's monarch signs it, but that process is a mere formality, according to Reuters.

Eighty-six voted for the law; 44 voted against. Non-voting dissenters include Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders, one being Brussels Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard, head of the Catholic Church in Belgium.

"The law says adolescents cannot make important decisions on economic or emotional issues, but suddenly they've become able to decide that someone should make them die," he said.

Actually, the law has created more controversy far outside Belgium, where over 1,000 people choose euthanasia annually. In and around its borders, the practice is more accepted. Its northern neighbor, the Netherlands, gave children the right in 2002. Since then, only five children have exercised it; a similarly low rate is expected in Belgium.

In the United States, five states allow "assisted suicide", according to Reuters: Montana, Oregon, Vermont and Washington (state).