Euthanasia is not part of palliative care– paediatric palliative care professionals

At the conclusion of the first International Children’s Palliative Care Network conference, which took place in Mumbai, India, a declaration, to be known as the ICPCN Mumbai Declaration 2014, was issued and signed by delegates. The declaration calls for all children with life-limiting conditions to have access to appropriate pain and symptom control and to high quality palliative care to meet their particular needs.

This declaration, which has been published in full on the ICPCN website, was signed by both individual delegates and organisations present at the conference.

Joan Marston, CEO of ICPCN, said: “Euthanasia is not and has never been a part of palliative care and we believe the answer to a child’s suffering is more and better palliative care services and not the ending of a child’s life.”