---

Associated Press, USA
Dec. 1, 2004
Toby Sterling, Associated Press
www.marinij.com

---

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 9568 • Posted: Wednesday December 1, 2004  

---

AMSTERDAM – A hospital in the Netherlands – the first nation to permit euthanasia – recently proposed guidelines for mercy killings of terminally ill newborns, and then made a startling revelation: It has already begun carrying out such procedures, which include administering a lethal dose of sedatives.

The announcement by the Groningen Academic Hospital came amid a growing discussion in Holland on whether to legalize euthanasia on people incapable of deciding for themselves whether they want to end their lives – a prospect viewed with horror by euthanasia opponents and as a natural evolution by advocates.

In August, the main Dutch doctors’ association KNMG urged the Health Ministry to create an independent board to review euthanasia cases for terminally ill people “with no free will,” including children, the severely mentally retarded and people left in an irreversible coma after an accident.

The Health Ministry is preparing its response, which could come as soon as December, a spokesman said.

Three years ago, the Dutch parliament made it legal for doctors to inject a sedative and a lethal dose of muscle relaxant at the request of adult patients suffering with no hope of relief.

The Groningen Protocol, as the hospital’s guidelines have come to be known, would create a legal framework for permitting doctors to actively end the life of newborns deemed to be in similar pain from incurable disease or extreme deformities.

The guideline says euthanasia is acceptable when the child’s medical team and independent doctors agree the pain cannot be eased and there is no prospect for improvement, and when parents think it is best.

Examples include extremely premature births, where children suffer brain damage from bleeding and convulsions; and diseases where a child could only survive on life support for the rest of its life, such as severe cases of spina bifida and epidermosis bullosa, a rare blistering illness.

The hospital revealed it has carried out four such mercy killings in 2003, and reported all cases to government prosecutors. There have been no legal proceedings against the hospital.

Roman Catholic organizations and the Vatican have reacted with outrage to the announcement, and U.S. euthanasia opponents contend the proposal shows the Dutch have lost their moral compass.

Child euthanasia remains illegal everywhere. Experts say doctors outside Holland do not report cases for fear of prosecution.

“People are doing this secretly and that’s wrong,” said Eduard Verhagen, head of Groningen’s children’s clinic. “In the Netherlands we want to expose everything, to let everything be subjected to vetting.”

According to the Justice Ministry, four cases of child euthanasia were reported to prosecutors in 2003.

---

What You Can Do From Here

---

Read More Articles On These Topics Categories: Euthanasia / Assisted Suicide Share, Blog About, Bookmark, or Email This Article Subscribe Religion News Blog RSS feed [What is this?] RSS by topic: Euthanasia / Assisted Suicide Read Another Article Previous entry: Young, Muslim and British Next entry: Religious commune leader pleads guilty in fondling case RNB Homepage with latest headlines Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults Find Related Books Euthanasia / Assisted Suicide Most Popular Today NewsChannel 10 allowed inside self proclaimed messiah’s compound Wanda Barzee pleads guilty to charge in Elizabeth Smart case Judge cancels hearing in case against Warren Jeffs Atheists ‘just as ethical as churchgoers’ research shows

---

Share This Article

---

To share this page simply copy and paste one of these URL's:

• Post a link on your blog or website:
  
• Send in an email or IM:
  
• Post on a forum:
  

Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support.

Note: results are listed on another domain -- CounterCultSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.

Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs.

Note: results are listed on another domain -- ApologeticsSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.