Jackman 1

Ashlen Jackman

English Composition 2

Brett Sipes

24 March 2019

Euthanizing Infants: A Must-Have Option

Having a baby can be the best time of a parent’s life or it could be the worst.

Having a premature infant can cause untold amounts of stress especially if the infant is

given a less than 10% chance of survival. A coworker of my mother’s had been trying to

have a baby with her husband for over a year, and when they finally got pregnant they

were ecstatic. When Angie, my mother’s coworker, was at 21 weeks they discovered

something strange in the baby’s brain. The mother and father’s blood types were

battling a war in the fetus’ head causing a severe brain hemorrhage in his frontal cortex.

The doctors were frantic and pumped Angie full of steroids to increase Wyatt’s size.

They were going to pull Wyatt out early to decrease the risk of the hemorrhage coming

back. The steroid solution was pumped in via IV and took approximately 12 to 12 and a

half hours to pump all the solution in, and the average cost of each IV was $35,000

dollars. She had 5 of these IVs in total. Wyatt James Johnson was born via C-section in

the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and was immediately rushed away from his mother for

examination. Today, Wyatt is a healthy, chubby baby boy who is about to celebrate his

1st birthday. However, this happy ending isn’t present for all parents. If a baby is born at

or before 21 weeks or is given less than a 10% chance of survival, despite medical
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intervention, then the option of euthanizing the infant should be introduced to the

parents to alleviate financial and emotional pain along with easing the pain of the baby.

In Belgium, child euthanasia is already being introduced. According to “Belgium

authorized euthanasia of a terminally ill nine and 11-year-old in youngest cases

worldwide” an article by Henry Samuel, “Two children aged nine and 11, have become

the world’s youngest to be euthanized[...]The nine-year-old, who had a brain tumor, and

the 11-year-old, who was suffering from cystic fibrosis, were the first children under 12

to be euthanized anywhere[...]”Belgium is already taking the necessary steps to ease

the suffering of children, but another country has taken it further by introducing a law

that allows euthanasia of newborn infants if certain conditions are met. According to the

Government of Netherlands website, “The law permits physicians to terminate the lives

of newborn infants and to perform a late-term abortion only on condition that they fulfill

the following due care criteria. In the light of prevailing medical opinion, the child’s

suffering must be unbearable and with no prospect of improvement. This means that the

decision to discontinue treatment is justified. There must be no doubt about the

diagnosis and prognosis. Both the physician and the parents must be convinced that

there is no reasonable alternative solution given the child’s situation. The parents must

have given their consent for the termination of life. The parents must have been fully

informed of the diagnosis and prognosis.[...]”There has yet to be any cases of newborn

euthanasia in the Netherlands, but the option is there for the suffering parents if it is

needed.
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There are many sub-divided fields of medicine like audiology, radiology, or

cardiology. All of these fields can be useful in saving an infant’s life or helping the

baby’s development. One such method is used to save a patient while they are in

respiratory distress or cardiac arrest is the Extracorporeal Membrane

Oxygenation(ECMO). This machine according to an article written in the European

Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery by Vinod Mishra, “[...]is a technique for providing life

support to patients suffering from severe, but reversible, pulmonary and/or cardiac

failure.”This machine has an extremely high success rate when it comes to saving

patients, but the financial stress it can cause is significant. The average price of usage

of this device is $73,122.” This can throw the average American family so far into debt

that they may never recover from the fianancial toll.

Other life-saving treatments can include neurosurgery, pulmonary surgery, and

even Oncology(which is the treatment of cancer). Some babies are also born with

congenital diseases such as Anencephaly, Congenital Heart Defects and Spina Bifida

Cystica can sometimes be fatal according to the CDC. Many of these babies are

suffering in tremendous amounts of pain and their parents are putting themselves

deeper into debt to afford corrective surgeries to alleviate the infant’s pain if surgery is

even available to alleviate symptoms. The average cost of surgery can include

operating room per hour costs, the surgeon’s fee, visits with the surgeon, and pre-

surgery treatments according to an article written by Bill Fay. All this can rack up to

thousands of dollars possibly even hundreds of thousands of dollars. “[...]60% of all

bankruptcies are related to medical expenses.”(Fay)The average hospital bill can rack
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up to $10,000 dollars, but with equipment like the ECMO being used and different

surgeries, the bill can surmount $200,000 dollars depending on other procedures and

the length of the stay.

The painfulness of watching a loved one struggle with life or death can take an

emotional and mental toll. This can cause many things like PTSD, depression,

survivor’s guilt, and various anxiety disorders. According to the National Health

Service(NHS) in the United Kingdom, “Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can

develop after a very stressful, frightening or distressing event, or after a prolonged

traumatic experience.”In this case, the stressful and distressing experience would be

the suffering of the infant and being unable to do anything about it. PTSD can occur in

anyone who has suffered a traumatic event or experience. Events like a terrorist attack,

natural disasters, a traumatic birth, severe neglect, witnessing violent deaths, or the

diagnosis of a life-threatening condition according to the NHS. According to the Anxiety

and Depression Association of America(ADAA), PTSD can cause irritability, flashbacks,

loss of sleep, hypervigilance, vivid nightmares, avoidance of social situations, and loss

of interest. As a parent watching your child struggle to survive could cause any of the

conditions listed. The introduction of euthanasia would lessen the emotional weight and

help to start the grieving process.

With this in mind, many people will oppose the introduction of euthanasia on the

grounds of it being immoral and wrong to euthanize someone who can’t speak for
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themselves yet and should have the right to live despite the adverse circumstances.

However, according to the March of Dimes website, ”The death of a baby is one of the

most painful things that can happen to a family. You may never really get over your

baby’s death. But you can move through your grief to healing. As time passes, your pain

eases. You can make a place in your heart and mind for the memories of your baby.

You may grieve for your baby for a long time, maybe even your whole life.” The grieving

process can take a long time, and watching your baby struggle for survival and possibly

die painfully can lengthen that process exponentially because of the recurring memories

and feelings.

Fig. 1: Many of the

premature infants

born at 22 weeks died or were born with severe disabilities.Taken from

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-20608905
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Nearly 1 in 10 babies are born premature and can be born with severe disabilities. Many

of these babies require expensive, life-saving equipment. The financial burden of the

equipment and procedures can put a family into debt that they can never recover from.

The emotional struggle put upon the parents to watch their baby struggle for survival

and quite possibly die can be catastrophic. The parents can develop PTSD, depression,

and anxiety disorders. That is why euthanasia should be an available option for the

parents of these suffering infants. If a baby is born at or before 21 weeks or is given less

than a 10% chance of survival, despite medical intervention, then the option of

euthanizing the infant should be introduced to the parents to alleviate financial and

emotional pain along with easing the pain of the baby.

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Works Cited

“Dealing with Grief after the Death of Your Baby.” March of Dimes,

www.marchofdimes.org/complications/dealing-with-grief-after-the-death-of-your-

baby.aspx.

Fay, Bill. “Hospital and Surgery Costs – Paying for Medical Treatment.” Debt.org,

Debt.org - America's Debt Help Organization, 16 Nov. 2018,

www.debt.org/medical/hospital-surgery-costs/.

“Learn about Specific Birth Defects | CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/types.html.

Mishra, et al. “Cost of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Evidence from the

Rikshospitalet University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.” OUP Academic, Oxford

University Press, 1 Feb. 2010, academic.oup.com/ejcts/article/37/2/339/774991.

NHS Choices, NHS, www.nhs.uk/conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-

ptsd/causes/.

Samuel, Henry. “Belgium Authorised Euthanasia of a Terminally Ill Nine and 11-Year-

Old in Youngest Cases Worldwide.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 7

Aug. 2018, www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/07/belgium-authorised-

euthanasia-terminally-nine-11-year-old-youngest/.
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“Symptoms of PTSD.” Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA,

adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/posttraumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/symptoms.

Volksgezondheid, Ministerie van. “Euthanasia and Newborn Infants.” Euthanasia |

Government.nl, Ministerie Van Algemene Zaken, 5 Oct. 2016,

www.government.nl/topics/euthanasia/euthanasia-and-newborn-infants.