CHURCH OF Scotland leaders have joined the euthanasia debate, claiming doctors should be given the right to withhold treatment from seriously ill newborn babies in exceptional circumstances, writes Marc Horne.

Their view, that some children should be allowed to die is contrary to the current presumption that life should be preserved at any cost. It follows the publication, last week, of an inquiry into the ethics of resuscitating and treating extremely premature babies.

Dr Sinclair Scott, a retired GP and a member of the Kirk’s influential Church and Society Council, said there was little point in continuing treatment for newborns with severe abnormalities.

He claims parents who take the agonising decision to allow their seriously ill babies to die should be given the full support of the church.

The intervention has prompted an angry response from disability groups who claimed it was an endorsement of “passive euthanasia”.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists provoked controversy when it argued for the euthanasia of seriously disabled newborn babies earlier this month. This was followed by a survey last week that concluded premature babies of up to 22 weeks should not be routinely resuscitated.

Scott added that the Kirk was against active euthanasia. “The church would draw a very distinct line between active euthanasia and the situation of withdrawing or withholding treatment.”

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