Just to be clear, this is referring to severe deformations....ones where the child grows in constant pain, disfigurement, and has no hope of a cure. An example would be the harlequin babies. There have been a few cases of them actually surviving infancy and being raised .

So, my question is: Should the parents and doctors that insist on keeping these children alive face legal action and jail time?

I think yes. If the child's condition is one where there is no cure, where they are in constant pain, and where they actually require significant medical treatment to be kept alive, it should be criminal to keep them alive. If the child can live without the medical support, fine...that's nature. But when parents go through extensive procedures just so their kid can live, albeit as a monster...that's disgustingly selfish behavior.

I realize that cases like these are overall quite rare, so consider this mostly as an ethical question. Does a parent have a right to subject their child to such a life? (Granted, everyday children are born into a world of pain and suffering, but there's quite a difference between poverty and worldly dangers, and not even having a chance of living as a normal human being) Should euthanasia be required in certain severe cases?

And because I sense someone is going to turn this into a long semantical argument, here is an image of a "harlequinn baby" that made it out of infancy. Look at it, and tell me whether it's fair for a parent to force THAT onto their child. And fyi: We can surely take this on a case by case basis, so don't think I'm trying to say "forced euthanasia on all deformed kids".

Thoughts?