Posted on 04/08/2005 6:58:12 PM PDT by quidnunc
Brussels – Nearly half the newborn babies who died in Flanders over a recent year-long period were helped to die by their doctors, a new study reported yesterday.
Paediatricians in the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium either discreetly stopped treating the babies or, in 17 cases, illegally killed them with lethal doses of painkillers.
The study, published in The Lancet, examined the deaths of every baby who died within a year of birth in Flanders between August 1999 and July 2000.
The results of a survey on the causes of death were stark: paediatricians who responded to the survey admitted they had taken "end of life" decisions in more than half the cases.
Most commonly, that involved withholding or withdrawing treatment because physicians believed the baby had no real chance of survival or the baby had no chance of a "bearable future".
In 40 cases, opiate pain killers were used in doses with a potentially life-shortening affect. In 17 cases, a lethal dose or lethal drugs were administered.
Overall, the research yielded information on 253 out of the total of 298 infant deaths in the region over the period. The lethal doses of painkillers, which broke Belgian law, were mainly administered to babies less than a week old.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
I still remember that poem.
Prayers. And many more prayers.
"Do you really think 1/2 of those babies were seriously ill or deformed? I don't.
50% is a pretty high rate of babies who could not live."
My reading of it was that 50% of the babies who died, were euthanized. I'd have to see a comparison of infant mortality between the Netherlands and America to know how many extras were put down..
As compared to merely ending the lives of some babies early.. who would never have made it anyway.
"I can tell you this, I don't want government doctors deciding to continue on, withhold treatment, or dispatch. That would be way too much power to put in the hands of government. Of course that's exactly what the liberals want."
That is exactly why I agreed with Judge Greer that the decision should be the guardian's. In those cases where recovery is hopeless.
Of course the danger is if they push it out, to say a down syndrome child or someone who is not going to die, but won't contribute to their society economically.
One irony is the left used to be the ones fighting against eugenics in general. And many in the left still do, there was a big outcry in England last year when a woman put down the reason for aborting her child.. as it was a down syndrome child. But they have no problem if a woman aborts the child because she doesn't want it.
They dont' like the genetic inequality of eugenics.. even as they do like the population limiting side, and how it makes their social programs more viable.
It isn't murder only in your book it's also murder in God's book, and his book is the one that counts.
Actually there is no difference in God's eyes between killing a baby after it leaves the birth canal and killing a baby in the mother's body. After legalizing the murder of the unborn, many people have become so blase about killing human life in the womb that they don't see anything wrong with killing humans after they're born as long as it's done for so-called "humanitarian" reasons. It's only a matter of time until it becomes perfectly acceptable to kill humans at any age or state of health as long as it can be somehow "justified" by calling it a humanitarian act.
I will bet that if you looked at those cases, you will find excessive deaths.
Once man justifies killing one, he goes on to then justify killing more and more. Why I don't know, but look at history.
The "save them from suffering needlessly" is purely a sales tactic to get the public to agree for physicians to have the power of determining when to kill. Sad that there are some who might be suffering - but - it shows how evil the proponents are when they use these innocents as justification to gain the power to kill.
We can not let them have that power.
We have to wake up and realize that there is much evil in this world and it is overtaking more and more men to do its work. What do we do - ignore it and let them kill?
Sickening. That's all I can say.
I may have to renounce my Flemishness and convert to Black Irish.
Your comment reminded me strongly of the sentiments expressed in the movie Fight Club:
"Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy sh*t we don't need... We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, VERY pissed off about it."
"The "save them from suffering needlessly" is purely a sales tactic to get the public to agree for physicians to have the power of determining when to kill."
I believe there are some people, especially doctors who have to be constantly involved in these situations who honestly have the patients best interests in mind. And we often don't mind putting down an animal, even a beloved family pet, to avoid it from suffering.
Yet as you are saying there are others with strange agendas, like depopulating the earth, who use it as an excuse to push their death cultist agenda.
"We can not let them have that power."
That is why I would like it to stay in the guardians hands.. with some limitations imposed by the state.
In the netherlands their healthcare is government ran, and the governmetn could just refuse to treat if it wanted, and most likely does.
So sad, Europe is hopeless.
...and a whole bunch of Freepers.
****When I read articles like this one, I can't help but think about the young man from LA who, having bee born with no arms, played the guitar with his feet and sang for Pope John Paul II.****
His name is Tony Melendez. He is awesome. He has a website:
http://www.tonymelendez.com
French nurse kills terminally ill patients to end their suffering
"I can see the defense at Saddam's trial claiming he is innocent of murdering 300,000+ people because he was "helping them to die".
Yes, and I can see it working, based on the fact that they didn't want to continue to live under his tyranny.
Where is Johnny Cochran now that Saddam needs him?
Oh, right.....
But it's not against the law in Texas where GW Bush has given doctors the authority to pull the plug on Medicaid patients against the wishes of family members.
Ping to self for later pingout.
>:-[
Many libertarians are very strongly pro-life.
Yeah. Tell me. Does Daschle, for instance, have a "bearable future?"
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