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At the ICU of the UMC hospital in Groningen, prematurely born babies are treated by a committed medical team. Every day, they weigh if treatment is advisable. The chance of a decent life is put first and foremost.
Many babies are born without a hitch in the Netherlands. Unfortunately, this does not go for every child. The filmmakers visited the intensive care unit of the UMC hospital in Groningen, where prematurely born babies are treated by a committed medical team, which discusses every patient individually. Does the child have a chance of a decent life? And what is the definition of a decent life? Very rarely, the doctors resort to active euthanasia, by means of the 'Groningen Protocol' that was developed here. This 'playing for God' has elicited criticism worldwide. However: 'It's easy to start a treatment, but it's tough to decide not to insert the tube', a doctor explains. The camera captures all emotions and considerations. Also those of the parents. Their hope, their grief, the shock when the baby passes on. The filmmakers respectfully film their emotions. As they do the contrast between the tiny babies and the medical equipment surrounding them.

Credits

Executive producer
Set geluid
Sound editing
Production company
L&F Producties
TV company
Human TV
Distributor NL
NPO Sales

Title: Ondertussen in Nederland - Als we het zouden weten
Year: 2007
Duration : 1 hour, 18 minutes
Category: Long Documentary
Edition: NFF 2008

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You are now in the NFF Archive. The archive contains contains information on film, TV and interactive productions that were screened at past festival editions. The NFF does not dispose of this material. For this, please contact the producer, distributor or broadcaster. Sometimes, older films can also be found at the Eye Film Museum or the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision.