Back in December, it was revealed that doctors at a hospital in Groningen, Holland had euthanized 4 children, who in their opinion, were terminally ill and in great pain. What made this such an outrage is that the doctors performed the euthanasia without consulting the parents. It was revealed that the hospital had set up a series of “protocols” for euthanizing children up to 12 years old. These protocols allowed physicians to terminate the life of a child for a wide variety of reasons including “quality of life” and “chronic, severe pain” with no prospect of alleviation.

Back then, I wrote:

How did we go from the idea that terminally ill people should decide for themselves whether to live with their suffering or end it with the assistance of their family doctor to this nightmare scenario of faceless bureaucrats deciding who lives, who dies, and on what basis those decisions are made? Is this the “slippery slope” opponents of assisted suicide have been talking about for years?

I vividly remember the debates about the Oregon “Right to Die” law back in 1994. At that time, the assisted suicide lobby paraded dozens of patients that wished to end their lives for a variety of reasons; some were not even terminally ill. We were warned at that time by right to life groups that it was a short step from assisted suicide to euthanizing people without their permission and against the judgement of their families.

The Terri Schiavo case proves that we’ve now entered that territory.

Denied therapy for 12 years by her husband (despite the fact that the nearly $1 million judgement Terri recieved stipulated that she be given this therapy) whose motives are suspect for a variety of reasons not limited to any financial gain that would come his way if she dies, Terri lies in a hospice bed with the shades drawn and all personal effects removed from the room to prevent her from recieving any stimuli that would improve her condition. Her husbands lawyer, George Felos, a right to die activist in Florida, has testified that he can ascertain a person’s desire to die by “looking into their eyes and letting their spirit speak directly to him.”

Terri’s nurses have filed affadavits that she has spoken words on numerous occasions including “momma” when her mother has entered the room and “stop” when a particular medical procedure was causing her discomfort. Her parents confirm these statements and add that Terri laughs and responds to them when they visit.

What all this adds up to is Groningen with a vengeance; a clear case that someone else is going to decide whether or not a relatively healthy but brain damaged woman will die against the express wishes of the only people in the case who seem to have nothing to gain by her death: Her parents.

Captain Ed, as usual, makes a strong case for life:

The issue is a society that treats its infirm and inconvenient as unnecessary burdens, weights that can simply be tossed in the trash as easily as fast-food wrappers. We abort babies by the truckload because they complicate our lives. Some of them get tossed into dumpsters after having reached birth. We execute prisoners because it’s supposedly more cost-effective to do so, even though they inevitably eat up years and years of courtroom time on almost-endless appeals. The suicidal get heroic treatment in movies and real life, with ghouls like Jack Kevorkian lauded and feted and, after getting locked up, becoming a minor celebrity cause.

And the Captain warned us about this last December when the Groningen protocols came to light:

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have not just reached a slippery slope – we have hit a greased chute, which is what depresses me more than anything else. Now that Groningen has commenced killing the undesirables and the world has answered with a shrug, we will now hear from the chorus of statists telling us that in an era of limited resources, we need to make these hard decisions for the benefit of the families involved and the greater good of society. That child who may never walk or talk will be such a burden on his family, they’ll say; the parents are too close to the situation to make an informed decision, so we’ll make it for them – for their own good, of course.”

Makes the Captain look like a prophet.

UPDATE: 2/27/04

PBS Watcher informs me that the blogosphere has been inaccurate in its coverage of the Groningen protocols in that in fact, parents must be notified and consulted in the euthanasia decision:

A point of order regarding the Groningen protocol. Contrary to all the blogosphere traffic in December, the protocol does not allow euthanasia without parental consent. We need to be careful with the facts to avoid the Eason Jordan / Dan Rather “fake but accurate” syndrome. See The Groningen Protocol?? for details.

While that may clear up one aspect of the protocols, it still doesn’t lessen my distaste for euthanasia. Human beings are not horses to be shot when in pain or dogs to be put down when an incurable illness occurs. Death is part of the human experience. How we deal with it in all of its pain and sorrow, is what sets us apart from the rest of the dumb brutes who inhabit this planet with us.

Thanks to PBS Watcher for the correction.