BEIJING, Mar. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Euthanizing incurably ill newborns seems more common in the Netherlands than was believed, Dutch doctors say.

    Doctors estimate that at least five newborn mercy killings occur for every one reported in that country, which has allowed euthanasia for competent adults since 1985, according to Associate Press.

    Drs. Pieter J.J. Sauer and Eduard Verhagen, pediatricians at University Medical Center Groningen, report in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine that about three mercy killings of newborns were reported to authorities annually from 1997 to 2004. But national surveys of Dutch doctors have found 15 to 20 such cases a year.

    In 2002, doctors at the hospital helped create a list of standards for performing and reporting euthanasia of newborns with serious, incurable deformities.

    Medical groups for seven years have asked the Dutch government to set up a panel of medical, legal and ethical experts to encourage reporting of and handle newborn euthanasia cases. But the plan has been repeatedly delayedby the government.    

    In other countries including France, Britain, Italy, Spain, Germany and Sweden, some doctors were also reported using drugs to end a newborn's life without reporting to authorities.

    U.S. doctors and ethicists say newborn euthanasia has happened occasionally, although its is more common to stop intensive treatment and let the baby die. Enditem

(Agencies)