Put disabled babies out of our misery, say Dutch doctors
In a new policy document, “Medical decisions about the lives of newborns with severe abnormalities” ( in Dutch only ) the KNMG explains why it is acceptable, and perhaps even necessary, to euthanase children. This is no longer headline news in the Netherlands, as newborn euthanasia is allowed under the so-called Groningen Protocol, drafted by Dr Eduard Verhagen in 2004.
The stunning novelty of this statement is that it says that the parents" suffering may be a reason to kill the newborn. Amongst other conditions, the policy states that a lethal injection of muscle relaxant is ethically possible when “The period of gasping and dying persists and the inevitable death is prolonged, in spite of good preparation, and it causes severe suffering for the parents.”
Full article see Bioedge Artikel uit de Volkskrant
