Dec
01
Netherlands Pushes the Line, Again
Posted by site admin | Posted in General | Posted on 01-12-2004
Wow. Netherlands has taken yet another drastic step to legalizing (and thus regulating) doctors who euthanize children born with severe deformities. It only seems logical as this is routinely done all over the world, by all sorts of doctors and hospitals.
I, for one, would prefer that any life-and-death decisions made by doctors be regulated, rather than done under the table. There is just something very troubling about doctors making these decisions all by themselves, without any oversight and regulation.
I also find it immoral to allow for needless suffering. Anything less than this seems just plain wrong.
I wonder though, if the regulation will just complicate things. Before, it was taken as a very important ethical decision that people had to sit down and think deeply about. and now its a policy. its on the books, so it must be right sort of thing… it could also mean that it takes longer, or is more difficult for some people to get killed because of burocratic processes.