Dutch doctors adopt guidelines on mercy killing of newborns

Neonatologist Bellieni states above: “… in the future they may become
so neurologically impaired that their self- awareness will almost be non
existent, and also in this case the word suffering is a misnomer.” On the
one hand, we can never know the extent of another person’s suffering,
especially when that other person is not capable of describing it, for
instance because he is a neonate or because he is neurologically impaired.
On the other hand, isn’t life itself commensurate with self-awareness?
This is the same impasse that complicated the Terri Schiavo case.

The dilemma arises in the first place because paediatricians are
trying to set up guidelines for making a decision that is not theirs to
make. In the Terri Schiavo case, judges ruled that the decision was up to
her legal guardian.

Competing interests:
None declared