Euthansia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Euthansia - Essay Example Seeing a smoking sixty year old grandfather die is different from seeing a newborn with underdeveloped lungs turn blue. Both are surely dying in a few days, don't they deserve equal chances of a decent death The Netherlands as been practicing euthanasia legally for quite some time now and it has gone relatively smoothly. Some are concerned with the increase in the number of cases as well as some gray areas. One of which is its administration to newborns and this lead the Groningen Protocol for Euthanasia in Newborns to be written. The Groningen Protocol helps doctors, or even parents, to administer euthanasia to babies based on the provided information so as to avoid interrogations by the authorities. The babies who are candidates for euthanasia are put into three categories according to Verhagen. First are infants with zero chance of survival. These are babies who are expected to die soon after birth even with upmost care and the latest medical technologies. The next group consists of infants with conditions which require intensive care. This group is delicate and even with great medical attention shows a grim future. And the third group is of infants who do not require intensive care but shows signs of intense suffering. They may survive but are believed to have a poor quality of life onwards. Among the three groups, the third one posts the most troubling decisions.