Child euthanasia
Child euthanasia is a form of euthanasia that is applied to children who are gravely ill or have significant birth defects. In 2005, the Netherlands became the first country since the end of Nazi Germany to decriminalize euthanasia for infants with hopeless prognosis and intractable pain.[1] Nine years later, Belgium amended its 2002 Euthanasia Act to extend the rights of euthanasia to minors.[2] Like euthanasia, there is world-wide public controversy and ethical debate over the moral, philosophical and religious issues of child euthanasia.
Physician sentiment[edit]
A major challenge for physicians tasked with the medical decision-making of babies born very premature or severely disabled with neurological damage and poor quality of life for the future presents another side to the bioethics topic of child euthanasia.[19] A 2017 study looked into the end-of-life decisions made by neonatologists in Argentina. The questionnaire investigated the method of their actions in response to critical neonates. The results showed that more than 75% of the neonatologists would initiate treatment in premature infants of unknown prognosis, based on newborn viability. It followed that more than 80% of physicians withdrew treatment which yielded no positive outcomes. Silberberg and Gallo's analysis showed the current sentiment of physicians with respect to infant euthanasia apply some variation of therapeutic activism, yet the large majority of those same doctors will withdraw life-preserving treatments when no advancements are made.[20]