The moral dilemmas of selective nontreatment of handicapped newborns have been widely
discussed in the United States since the early 1970s. Weir's book is the first systematic …

Nontreatment of handicapped newborns has disturbed American society, prompting heated
debate and new attempts by government at regulation. Robert Weir's new book reviews the …

The neonatal intensive care unit is the site of some of the most dramatic technology,
complex decision-making and costly activity in the current range of medical institutions …

Who decides, and on what basis, how to treat a child with severe birth defects? Any
decisions made on such cases are painful and complex, and have far-reaching …

Suffering patients (when able), grieving families and compassionate physicians have always
sought the least detrimental alternative while deciding care in the face of tragedy. Modern …

In April 1982, a Down's syndrome baby starved to death in a Bloomington, Indiana hospital
when his parents refused consent to operate on his blocked esophagus. 1 Court battles and …

Some 15 years ago, I was asked by my department chairman to teach a course on" Ethical
Dilemmas in Pediatrics." At that time there were few reference sources available, particularly …

Ethical issues are examined that involve withholding medical treatment from severely
handicapped infants. Although current laws do not sanction euthanasia, severely …

Severely handicapped newborns often require life-sustaining medical treatment immediately
after birth. Recent reports have indicated that parents and/or physicians occasionally decide …

Among those who have defended a policy of selective non-treatmentof defective newborns,
none have been as forceful or direct in stating and defending their views as have Duff and …