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The Hague (pte036/14.12.2004/14:00) - Dutch doctors are calling for a law that would allow them to end the lives of newborn babies with incurable illnesses. As the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk reports today, Tuesday, doctors from Holland's eight university hospitals have signed an appeal for a committee of experts to be set up to debate the issue. The Dutch government is expected to give its opinion over the next few months.
The committee of experts the doctors have proposed would define the specific criteria that would apply to this type of infant euthanasia. The protocol would only relate to around 600 infants in the world, and between 10 and 15 in Holland. These children are brought into the world with extreme malformations - some may have no brain.
The move has sparked fresh debate on the highly controversial issue of euthanasia. One of the university hospitals has already drawn up a document that sets out the circumstances in which euthanasia of newborns could be justified. The Vatican has strongly criticised the text.
Holland was the first country in the world to legalise euthanasia in 2002. There, it can be given to people over 16, and to those over 12, but only in exceptional cases. According to the BBC, Dutch doctors say that paediatricians worldwide favour infant euthanasia in certain circumstances. 74 per cent of French people believe it should be acceptable, and in Holland 72 per cent are in favour of it.
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