A Quebec physicians’ group is again promoting euthanasia for newborn babies, saying euthanasia can be an “appropriate treatment” for infants with severe disabilities or malformations even though Canadian law still forbids the practice and a baby cannot consent.
The Collège des médecins du Québec, or Quebec College of Physicians, told the Daily Mail it “reiterates that medical assistance in dying may be an appropriate treatment for babies suffering from extreme pain that cannot be relieved and who have severe malformations or serious polysymptomatic syndromes that destroy any prospect of survival.”
“The CMQ believes that parents should have the opportunity to obtain this care for their infant under these well-defined circumstances,” the college said.
That is a proposal, not the law. Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying program, legalized in 2016, applies to adults 18 and older who request it and meet eligibility rules. It does not authorize doctors to euthanize newborns. Yet.
Hellbound and Down 