On August 2, a new study titled “Healthcare professionals’ attitudes towards termination of pregnancy at viable stage” was released, analyzing the willingness of physicians to commit late-term abortions or even infanticide. The study, funded by the Research Foundation Flanders and Ghent University, found that 89.1% of medical professionals and 93.6% of physicians indicated that infanticide is acceptable in certain circumstances.
The findings are based on the results of an anonymous survey sent to 117 Belgian medical professionals who worked in Neonatal Intensive Care in Flanders, Belgium. There were 92 responses on a range of questions, but the most disturbing finding is that a near-total majority of physicians backed killing newborn infants with disabilities by lethal injection. From the study:
Of all healthcare professionals, 89.1% (93.6% of physicians) agree that in the event of a serious (non-lethal) neonatal condition, administering drugs with the explicit intention to end neonatal life is acceptable. About the same proportion (87.9%) agrees that Belgian law should be changed to make this possible.
