The killing by Dr. Henk Prins of a three-day old infant born with spina bifida and limb anomalies. (Yes, euthanasia has entered Dutch pediatric wards. A 1997 study in the British medical journal, The Lancet, revealed that about 8 percent of all infants who die in the Netherlands are killed by doctors.)
Spina bifida is a condition in which there is an opening at the spine that may cause disability or death. Prins --a gynecologist, not a pediatrician or expert in spina bifida --killed the child at the request of her parents, because, he later testified, the baby screamed in agony when touched. No wonder the baby was in pain! Prins never closed the wound in her back. In other words, the doctor killed his patient without first attempting proper medical treatment. Yet, rather than punishing Prins, the trial judge praised him for his "integrity and courage," wishing him well in any further legal proceedings he might face.