Posted on 12/02/2004 10:52:36 PM PST by nickcarraway
What is the difference between aborting a baby and euthanizing it? Nothing except the timing of the killing. In the Netherlands, a country that never hesitates to unfold the logic of liberalism to its farthest points, doctors have devised a program to euthanize babies deemed defective. They euthanized four babies last year, according to press reports earlier in the week. Now they are calling upon the Dutch government to pursue a more ambitious program that would let doctors euthanize undesirables with "no free will," meaning minors.
C.S. Lewis wrote that evil is done "in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices." Lewis could have added that they don't even need to raise their voices when they go on public radio to explain their evil. On Wednesday, National Public Radio politely interviewed one of the Dutch doctors overseeing the euthanasia-for-children program, Eduard Verhagen, clinical director of the Pediatric Clinic of the University Hospital at Groningen. This white-coated doctor with neatly trimmed fingernails didn't need to raise his voice when asked by NPR quite casually, "How was it decided that they should die?" The children had medical conditions like "spina bifida," responded Verhagen. The babies were born "with incurable conditions," so "we felt that in these children the most humane course of action would be to allow the child to die, and even actively assist them in their death."
Assist them in their death. Had the toddlers scrawled out a consent form? No, they lack "free will," so pediatricians made the decision for them. Asked if what his hospital had done was legal, Verhagen blithely said, "No, it's not legal," but implied the Dutch government would tidy up that decision later. "It's a very delicate and very important decision that one needs to make," he said. "And if such a decision is made, we prefer to have it tested or assessed by a committee of experts, just to make sure that we have taken into account all the requirements and that we are really doing something that is correct."
Would parents be able to veto the decision on which children get to live or die according to the committee? Apparently not. When Verhagen was asked, "Is it just up to the parents?" he said, "No." But he quickly caught himself and magnanimously allowed that parents are "always very much involved." Ultimately, however, who lives or dies is the culture's decision, he said. "Let's see how society thinks of it," he offered. "What we would like to happen here in Holland is that we put the spotlight on such decisions because they need to be extremely secure. And instead of taking these decisions in a kind of gray area, we want them to be in the spotlight…The culture in Holland is a culture where euthanasia for adults has been legalized in 2002 by the Parliament."
Verhagen concluded on the thought that "the best way to protect life is to sometimes assist a little bit in death." This contradicted what he had said earlier when he stressed that "we are actually talking about children that are already in a dying process." No, they were not dying. If they were dying, they would have died without euthanasia. It is precisely because they were not dying that the Dutch doctors euthanized them.
Euthanasia isn't letting a patient die but killing a patient who isn't dying. It is an act of annoyance at a patient who isn't dying on the timetable those who want the patient to die would prefer. In the Terri Schiavo case, for example, her impatient boyfriend demanded that she be deprived of food and water because she wasn't dying with sufficient speed. "Has she died yet?" a nurse heard him say. "When is that bitch going to die?" Euthanasia, it was said, would allow Schiavo to "die in peace." Die in peace? No, it would guarantee that she die violently. Starvation is not a peaceful act.
In clean, well-lighted hospitals, Verhagen and doctors like him are committing barbaric acts no different from pagans of old leaving inconvenient children on hilltops. Whenever a doctor uses the word "humane," it is clear that he has already performed the inhuman.
George Neumayr Ping
ping
I would like to see some of the parents of the murdered children interviewed. So far I have not heard a thing.
Moral Absolutes Ping.
More on baby killing in the Netherlands. Haven't read much of this yet, did notice one of my favorite C.S.Lewis quotes.
I am trying to go to bed but I keep having to pingthings.
It amazes me that so many people don't realize that the slippery slope includes them. That the firm ground they're standing on will erode, and they will also find themselves hurtling into the chasm. It's always the "other" people.
Let me know if anyone wants on/off this pinglist.
Note: The wider vision a person has, the more others' suffering pains them. The more self centered, the less other peoples' suffering affects them, to the point that very self centered people either don't notice when they cause suffering, or it's worth it to achieve their goals. The worst of all are people who actually like the suffering they cause as an end in itself.
A truly moral and spiritually advanced person is pained more by others' suffering than even those who are suffering. He'd rather do the suffering himself.
The rage inside of me is boiling!
I haven't seen any either. Bill Lockyer would be proud.
Netherlands Hospital Euthanizes Babies --Archives and miltiple Links
International Task Force
on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
Archives of News Items on Euthanasia and End-of-Life Decisions (2004)
From a Slippery Slope to an Avalanche
FYI PING
| Patient life expectancy: | 63 years |
| Cost to preserve life at adequate levels : | 10K/yr * 63 yrs (630,000) |
| Expected productivity of patient : | 1 |
| Cost Benefit Ratio* : | 630,000 : 1 |
| Termination status : | 1 (Immediate termination) |
*Cost benefit ratio exceeding 4 requires immediate termination
Peter Singer, too.
Nothing surprising here given that NPR euligised Josef Stalin on the 50th anniversary of his death, including a interview with one of his relatives who told tear-jerking stories about what a wonderful man he was.
They should instead put these kids up for adoption and admit they don't want to pay for their lifelong medical care.
Incredible evil taking place here, Nick. Thank God for Terri's parents who are fighting it in our country, and exposing the evil up to the light.
There are actually less "rights" than people think they are.
There are a lot of natural laws that people are ignorant about, though. And natural laws will be broken always with great cost, sooner or later.
Oh dear God. I've got a sister with retardation and severe Epilepsy. How long before they go after people like her? And Spina Bifada??? Children can lead happy lives with that for a period of time. This is terrifying.
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