Legacy MattersAs the future arrives faster and faster, we - as a society, as individuals and as families - will face more difficult ethical and moral decisions when it comes to medical care for ourselves and our loved ones. One such in the news today is the Groningen Protocol , one Dutch hospital's guidelines for the mercy killing of newborns deemed to be suffering from an incurable disease or extreme deformities. Holland is the first country that I know of that allows the "mercy killing" of newborns, a practice that may be more hidden and widespread than you'd think.
Experts acknowledge that doctors euthanize routinely in the United States and elsewhere, but that the practice is hidden. "Measures that might marginally extend a child's life by minutes or hours or days or weeks are stopped. This happens routinely, namely, every day," said Lance Stell, professor of medical ethics at Davidson College in Davidson, N.C., and staff ethicist at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C. "Everybody knows that it happens, but there's a lot of hypocrisy. Instead, people talk about things they're not going to do."
What will happen when a hospital or government committee disagrees with the parents about what should be done? The financial pressure on hospitals to cease expensive care will become greater, even as the family wants such care until death comes naturally. These are hugely charged questions. Sometimes what seems a tragedy turns out to a blessing, as is often the case in Down's syndrome babies. That effect is best seen on the family members who become more loving, compassionate and tolerant. The thought of euthanizing infants for any reason, including handicaps is repulsive to me.This is especially because my baby sister is profoundly retarded. Despite the hardship of that situation, I cannot think of anything else in my life that has more positively formed my character. To me, she is an angel sent by God to make me a better, more compassionate person.