Death in the Netherlands: evidence and argument.

摘要

IN THIS ISSUE OF ARCHIVES, VERHAGEN ET AL1 PRO-vide thorough and thought-provoking insight into end-of-life decision making for newborns in the Netherlands. The authors retrospectively reviewed the case histories of 98% of all infants who died in the 10 tertiary Dutch neonatal units during a 1-year period. They interviewed pediatricians involved in all cases in which end-of-life decisions appeared to be influenced by considerations other than straightforward futility. The results of the study have some relevance for debates about Dutch end-of-life practices, particularly the controversial protocol for active euthanasia in newborns, the Groningen Protocol