A recent article pointed out the fact the many doctors would not want to be subjected to the treatment that many patients receive in an intensive care unit.

There is also the diary of an intensive care nurse available on the internet.

So because one child experiences a remission of unknown duration in one case of cancer, thousands of others should be forced to go through excruciating pain and humiliation on their way to inevitable death. Is that your sole argument?

Was Deryn Blackwell actually offered euthanasia? Is childhood leukaemia on the list of conditions for which euthanasia is offered? Or is this all just an attempt to make a misguided emotional appeal for a policy about which there can be no rational disagreement?

First, I agree with Jayb - not much remains to be said afterwards.

As for the child's age and maturity, biologically, a boy/girl is able to survive on their own in nature from about the age of 8. The arbitrary and artificial age of '18' is based roughly on the ability of a person to integrate successfully into modern/Western society. That is because modern society is so complex that it requires years of training and indoctrination to adjust. However, when someone wants to die, what importance is there to their ability to integrate socially?