If you feel up to facing real evil at its most clinical, precise, cool, and seemingly benign, do have a look at this piece, in The New England Journal of Medicine, on The Groningen Protocol:
Of the 200,000 children born in the Netherlands every year, about 1000 die during the first year of life. For approximately 600 of these infants, death is preceded by a medical decision regarding the end of life. Discussions about the initiation and continuation of treatment in newborns with serious medical conditions are one of the most difficult aspects of pediatric practice. Although technological developments have provided tools for dealing with many consequences of congenital anomalies and premature birth, decisions regarding when to start and when to withhold treatment in individual cases remain very difficult to make. Even more difficult are the decisions regarding newborns who have serious disorders or deformities associated with suffering that cannot be alleviated and for whom there is no hope of improvement.
Like I said, this is the real evil my friends, and it's coming your way whether you like it or not. Time to say goodbye to the illusion of neutrality.
I need to stare into space for a while.
Peace out.
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