Netherlands Plans Expansion of Child Euthanasia Policy

[freek]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,170812,00.html

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The change in Dutch policy is especially significant because it will provide the model for how the country treats other cases in which patients are unable to say whether they want to live or die, such as those involving the mentally retarded or elderly people who have become demented.

Yes and no. Euthanasia is only permitted when a few conditions are fulfilled. The patient has to give consent to the doctor by himself and on paper, and he has to be in good mental health. Another condition has to be that there is no prospect of recovery and the patient has to be suffering from great physical pain. This means that Alzheimer's disease is not and will not be a reason for euthanasia, because the patients themselves do not suffer from this disease. The family suffers. Normally euthanasia is performed on people with cancer in a terminal state.

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What Mr Verhagen here says is the most important reason why there is such a protocol now. I am sure that in a lot of countries (including America) also euthanasia is performed on infants with severe brain damage when the parents ask about it. The difference is that in other countries it is covered up. It is easy to make up a cause of death when infants are so heavily handicapped. The protocol helps doctors to make a decision if euthanasia is permissible or not.

[freek]

No, euthanasia is not preformed on infants here...legally that is. After all, we are a civilized nation.

Exactly. But it does happen. In secret.

The question is: is it better to be open about it, or not?

[freek]

Its better to have the police knock down the doors of doctors suspected of preforming such procedures and having them stripped of their license and brought up on manslaughter charges.

Actually, that might happen to doctors who don't follow the protocol.

It has happened with doctors not following the euthanasia-for-adults law. Some have been found guilty to murder, not even manslaughter. However, because they only deviated slightly from the law (they did have consent from a terminally ill cancer patient but they forgot to consult a second doctor for example) they weren't sent to prison. However, a nurse who killed patients without their consent (like the British Doctor Death) was sentenced to life in prison.