Child Euthanasia

In class readings, Wolf describes age catagories for child euthanasia with the conclusion that it is not appropriate at any age. In an article I read (When Torment Is Baby's Destiny, Euthanasia Is Defended NY Times, march 10, 2005) the author states "We are convinced that life-ending measures can be acceptable in these cases under very strict conditions." The article describes three groups in which infants can be placed. Those with no chance of survival, those who who may not survive and require intensive care, and those with a "hopeless prognosis" and "what parents and medical experts deem to be unbearable suffering," even if they don't require intensive care. Again as I have blogged before, there is a cultural difference. Many with debilitating conditions lead productive happy lives. We saw this clearly with Harriet McBryde Johnson and many others that make up Not Dead Yet. I agree medicine is advancing every day (some good some not) and more can be done than in the past. However, if we treat with great resources those who will die or live in great suffering, we have not respected them as human, in fact we have turned them into research projects. They become experiments giving parents a false sense of hope.