Abstract
Developments in legal and medical research regarding end-of-life decisions regarding severely suffering neonates in the Netherlands provide good cause for reflection on specific items of this issue. This article deals with the outcomes of the first national survey on end-of-life practice in Dutch Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) and examines the legal aspects of parental involvement in the decision making process. In this regard the authors reflect on the Dutch interpretation of ‘hopeless and unbearable suffering’, the medical-professional conduct in case of medical neonaticide, parental authority over an infant's fundamental right to life and the role of parents in supervising legal-procedural aspects.
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