It is a bit bizarre. I can imagine the major expense would be a motivating factor.

I read once that people back when in upper Scandanvia, Vikings I guess, would put severely birth-defected babies out on the ice for a quick, mostly painless death. They say freezing to death is one of the easiest ways to go.

Sounds harsh, but they were up against far more pressing immediate economic concerns: having sufficient labor to support the tribe, village, family and they simply couldn't spare the labor for that sort of care.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K