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From a Slippery Slope to an Avalanche: Euthanizing Children"
Breakpoint ^ | October 5, 2004 | Charles Colson

Posted on 10/06/2004 7:16:30 AM PDT by Southside_Chicago_Republican

For all the horror stories we’ve heard about euthanasia in recent years, there are still many people who think of it as “mercy killing.” Those people need to take a long, hard look at what’s happening in the Netherlands right now. It’s very difficult to find anything merciful about what Dutch doctors are doing to children and infants.

According to Wesley J. Smith in the Daily Standard, Groningen University Hospital in the Netherlands now officially allows doctors to euthanize children under twelve, “if doctors believe their suffering is intolerable or if they have an incurable illness.” That includes non-fatal illnesses and disabilities. Whether or not the child can consent is irrelevant—what child under twelve would have a clear idea of what he or she was consenting to?

As Smith writes, “For anyone paying attention to the continuing collapse of medical ethics in the Netherlands, this isn’t at all shocking. . . . Doctors were [already] killing approximately 8 percent of all infants who died each year in the Netherlands. That amounts to approximately eighty to ninety per year. Of these, one-third would have lived more than a month. At least ten to fifteen of these killings involved infants who did not require life-sustaining treatment to stay alive. The study found that a shocking 45 percent of neo-natologists and 31 percent of pediatricians who responded to questionnaires had killed infants.” Smith adds that at least a fifth of the killings were performed without parental consent.

(Excerpt) Read more at pfm.org ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: euthanasia; infanticide; nuance; nuanced; righttolife; terrischiavo
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To: ClearCase_guy

If I were a thirty-year-old living in The Netherlands, this would scare me to death. In twenty years, most people under twenty-years-old in The Netherlands will be Muslim. This is the demographic trend. In forty years, about the time I would be entering my "cavity-prone years" where I would be more of a burden than a help to the state, the majority of productive workers in The Netherlands will be Muslim.

Are these taxpaying, productive young Muslims going to have a strong incentive for keeping my old, feeble, ethnic Dutch, Christian butt alive? Or are they going to make the economically rational decision and cut off my air supply?

If I were a middle-aged person in The Netherlands, I would be very wary of putting into place the mechanisms which people will use to make that choice when the time comes.


21 posted on 10/06/2004 8:02:57 AM PDT by gridlock (BARKEEP: Why the long face? HORSE: Ha ha, old joke. BARKEEP: Not you, I was talking to JF'n Kerry!)
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To: Southside_Chicago_Republican
My B-i-L is a neo-natologist. A good and wise man. I can see (fortunately, not yet "have seen") cases where euthanasia might be merciful, but I don't see him making any such determinations on his preemies lightly, or without parental consent. His conscience takes enough damage from the few that he can't save. Intentionally taking one would make him a wreck.

Of course, Lefties probably see nothing wrong with it, since the baby isn't a full 9 months old, yet.

22 posted on 10/06/2004 8:04:41 AM PDT by Teacher317
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To: gridlock
Pretty good, but you made one mistake. There are few Christians in Europe now. Christianity has been overthrown for secular paganism. Moloch has come back.
23 posted on 10/06/2004 8:07:56 AM PDT by redgolum (Molon labe)
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To: gridlock
>This is a Preview of Coming Attractions for the United States

The thing is, this stuff
started in America,
but Europe embraced

this approach to life.
Because the NAZIS were seen
as such "champions"

of this ugly stuff,
after the war, everyone
kind of hushed it up.

But it started here,
got picked up there, and now it's
bouncing back to us . . .

24 posted on 10/06/2004 8:12:08 AM PDT by theFIRMbss
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To: gridlock

This is a Preview of Coming Attractions for the United States.



And then along came the Islamofacists !!!


25 posted on 10/06/2004 8:15:00 AM PDT by GeekDejure ( LOL = Liberals Obey Lucifer !!!)
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To: gridlock

I think they've been doing this to the elderly for some time. I have an acquaintance whose grandmother lived in Amsterdam. Twenty years ago she was terminally ill. The impression I got is that she was "helped along" at the end.


26 posted on 10/06/2004 8:16:04 AM PDT by Southside_Chicago_Republican (Alan Keyes 2004)
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To: muffaletaman
This is sick!

Yeah. But we can look forward to it under a Kerry/Edwards administration, which is eternally beholden to pro-death organizations for their support.

27 posted on 10/06/2004 8:20:09 AM PDT by ppaul
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To: Southside_Chicago_Republican; father_elijah; nickcarraway; SMEDLEYBUTLER; Siobhan; Lady In Blue; ...
Catholic Discussion Ping!

Please notify me via FReepmail if you would like to be added to or taken off the Catholic Discussion Ping List.

28 posted on 10/06/2004 8:22:42 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Southside_Chicago_Republican
More and more, elderly people and people with serious illnesses are going to resist hospitalization, for obvious reasons.

In my own family some relatives killed an elderly family member who was suffering from Alzheimmer's by denying him food and water.

29 posted on 10/06/2004 8:35:50 AM PDT by Aquinasfan (Isaiah 22:22, Rev 3:7, Mat 16:19)
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To: ClearCase_guy
We've slipped a bit, but we are still a light unto the world.

40 million dead since 1973 is more than a slip. And our debased culture is spewing raw sewage into the world.

30 posted on 10/06/2004 8:38:40 AM PDT by Aquinasfan (Isaiah 22:22, Rev 3:7, Mat 16:19)
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To: freebilly
WHAT MAKES YOU SO SURE THEY DON'T????
31 posted on 10/06/2004 8:40:24 AM PDT by chiefqc
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To: freebilly

I think that is a capital idea. I have often advised the Irish to do the same thing with their childre

;)


32 posted on 10/06/2004 8:41:06 AM PDT by modest proposal
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To: Southside_Chicago_Republican

This is sick and it will get worse, I believe.


33 posted on 10/06/2004 8:41:53 AM PDT by rawhide
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To: Aquinasfan
I lost my step grandma to Alzheimer's. My grandfather would go visit her everyday for 4 years till he got to sick to drive. Then he would see her at least once a week till the end.

All that time, no one ever once said we should "Help her along". I doubt that even occurred to my grandfather. God set before us a path to tread. We do not have the authority to tell Him we want to stop.
34 posted on 10/06/2004 8:47:30 AM PDT by redgolum (Molon labe)
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To: Southside_Chicago_Republican

This is what the world means by " Progressive"

They have lost their Moral compass, and have begun their decent into depravity.

Soon the people of the netherlands will begin speaking French.


35 posted on 10/06/2004 8:54:01 AM PDT by LtKerst (Lt Kerst)
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To: Lisa Ruby

.


36 posted on 10/06/2004 8:55:48 AM PDT by Askel5 († Cooperatio voluntaria ad suicidium est legi morali contraria. †)
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To: FatLoser
That's right. This is part of a post I made a little bit ago:

"I understand what you're saying. There is so much happening that parallels pre-Nazi Germany that history is starting to repeat itself."

The removal of God from the public forum, dumbing-down in our educational system, political correctness, and the biased MSM have done their jobs well. Are we right behind the Netherlands?

May God save our own country.

37 posted on 10/06/2004 8:56:18 AM PDT by Ladysmith ("I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.")
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To: kjenerette

...for issues file.


38 posted on 10/06/2004 9:48:14 AM PDT by Van Jenerette (Our Republic - If we can keep it!)
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To: Teacher317

I think there are plenty of doctors and hospitals here that wouldn't go along with euthanasia. There are probably plenty of others that would. But the seed of euthanasia has been planted here, in the minds of average people too.

An old man down the street from me, 85 years old at the time, had some kind of problem that required surgery. After the surgery he was comatose for a few weeks and then, after he came out of the coma, he had a long road to recovery. He was in the hospital over three months. During his worst times, when it didn't seem that he would be making a full recovery or even any kind of recovery, his family approached his doctor about removing life support. The doctor refused, encouraging the family to give the old man some more time.

Three years later, he is vital and active and you would never guess he is 88. He seems at least 20 years younger.


39 posted on 10/06/2004 9:58:04 AM PDT by Southside_Chicago_Republican (Alan Keyes 2004)
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To: Aquinasfan
I've "run into this" with so many family members also. I am wondering what they have read or watched over the last 20 years (it seems) that has changed so many of their minds SO much, what has made them believe that given certain situations - they would be a burden, and that the best thing to do would be to end it all quickly.

I wonder if it is not this embrace of the idea that we never die really, but that our spirits go on to live in the trees, animals and all. People started reading about "native indians" and all their spiritism and all in the early 80's.

Native Indians worshiped the earth, trees etc instead of worshiping the God that created them. (Romans Chapter 1) Who in their right mind thinks that the Loving and wonderful G-D of this Universe would turn the people He loves so much into a tree or a horse? Only a Fool!
40 posted on 10/06/2004 10:09:27 AM PDT by Esther Ruth (Now is THE time for all good men to turn Off CBS, NBC, ABC)
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