Abstract
...Is it permissible to let a newborn baby die from an anomaly that can be treated safely by surgery, but which would be lethal when not treated, if this treatment would open the way only to a life characterized by a mental handicap of uncertain seriousness? In an actual case of Down's Syndrome and duodenal atresia in Holland, the parents requested no surgical treatment. The surgeon, after consultation with the hospital ethical committee and with medical and nursing staff, elected to give only palliative treatment. The baby died in the arms of the mother at the age of 17 days. The public prosecutor attempted to convict the surgeon of intentionally taking the infant's life but the charge was dismissed by the lower and the supreme courts.
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