Neonatal euthanasia: The Groningen Protocol.

For the past thirty years, voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide of adult patients have been common practice in the Netherlands. Neonatal euthanasia was recently legalized in the Netherlands and the Groningen Protocol (GP) was developed to regulate the practice. Supporters claim compliance with the GP criteria makes neonatal euthanasia ethically permissible. An examination of the criteria used by the Protocol to justify the euthanasia of seriously ill neonates reveals the criteria are not based on firm moral principles. The taking of the life of a seriously ill person is not the solution to the pain and suffering of the dying process. It is the role of the medical professional to care for the ailing patient with love and compassion, always preserving the person's dignity. Neonatal euthanasia is not ethically permissible.