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The decision to let a premature baby live

The New York Times published a thoughtful op-ed by doctor who works with severely premature babies. She raises the tricky ethical question of whether and when parents and their doctor should fight to save a severely premature baby. The column is an antidote, to an extent, to the simple "always save every baby, no matter what" thinking about children who are born severely premature (those hovering right at the edges of fetal viability).

The author, Dr. April R. Dworetz, suggests that doctors need to do a better job helping parents understand the consequences of engaging in heroic measures to perpetuate the life of some children. She also suggests, in some cases, a bit more:
Sometimes, I think we doctors need to do more than inform. On occasion, I’ve offered to make a life-or-death decision for parents. If they agree, they are essentially making the decision, but are shifting the burden to me. It’s harder for parents to say, “I unplugged my baby,” than to let the doctor do it.
Links:

Op-ed in The New York Times (August 4, 2013): End of Life, at Birth
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