Enschede, The Netherlands, the 3rd of April 2001.

This site is meant to caution against medical abuse and against the new legislation in The Netherlands concerning the official legitimation of euthanasia. Our case is about deliberately treating a patient or on the other hand withholding certain treatment to a patient with the ultimate result: death!

Without letting us know surgeons tried to actively euthanasia our son Ewout when it was found out that he had developed hydrocephalus (without spinabiphida). By piercing the fontanel of our unborn child they tried to drain brain liquids and spinal marrow liquids in order to make a natural birth possible, knowing this would bring about the death of our son. However, Ewout survived this extremely painful treatment and was born handicapped. Subsequently a necessary operation was refused and postponed too long which caused even new handicaps.

Ultimately Ewout lived for 12 years in spite of all these efforts the surgeons made to deliberately let him be stillborn. When he had reached the age of 8 his medical attendants told us they couldn't see the value of handicapped life and that that was the reason they had tried to end his life before birth.

Through all of this we developed a certain fear for doctors and medical attendants so when the next pregnancy occurred we consulted another gynaecologist. We specifically asked him to do everything for the benefit of our child and that we were fully prepared to accept the possibility of a handicapped child. Somewhat indignant he promised us to do so but he didn't keep his promise!

Our son Maarten Theodoor had also developed hydrocephalus (without spinabiphida). In spite of the fact that I was taken with pains of childbirth from the 8th month onwards our son was delivered by caesarean section only after 9 and a half months of pregnancy. He lived only one week because his chances to survive were infinitely small and because adequate medical treatment was withheld. In this case the shortcoming of the medical attendants was that they should have known that a child with hydrocephalus should be delivered in the 8th month of pregnancy, at the latest An example of medical failure resulting in the death of the child.

We invite you to have a look at our life by watching some shots from our living room and parts of a 1982 TV broadcast in which we participated. Even then there was a broad discussion about the responsibility of doctors and the penal aspects of carelessness or active euthanasia. In the broadcast doctors and judges have their say? Doctors openly say in this broadcast that they are not prepared to operate on children with the Down syndrome in case of a heart defect or intestinal obstruction. The failure of the medical attendants around the birth of Maarten Theodoor was deliberately left out of the broadcast by the makers of the program. This was a great disappointment to us as this could have shown clearly the haughtiness with which these doctors decide about life or death and how colossal medical errors were made.

We would like to get in touch with people who have lost dear ones in similar circumstances in order to support each other and to warn others against evil practices. We would especially like to stir politicians into activity as the new legislation is about to be passed. This new legislation concerning euthanasia protects the doctors but not the patients and even the judiciary is left powerless.