The Progressive Culture of Death

Recently, a two-year-old child’s life was ended by a physician in the Netherlands. According to the report, the child had been diagnosed with periventricular leukomalacia, cerebral palsy, and infantile epileptic spasm syndrome, which caused seizures, difficulty swallowing and breathing, and other debilitating symptoms. After the family’s first doctor recommended euthanasia due to the child’s poor prognosis, a second opinion was sought. The physicians consulted for that second opinion found that “at that time the child was not continuously suffering unbearably” and that “the epileptic seizures were not continuous.” These physicians concluded, therefore, that there were still “reasonable alternatives, such as palliative options and other medications” that could potentially improve the seizure control. Another outside physician ultimately agreed with the recommendation to end the child’s life.