Which Babies Shall Live?

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

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2. Beyond Babies Doe

   1. Beyond Babies Doe

      • Thomas H. Murray, Arthur L. Caplan

      Pages 1-12

3. The Child, Medicine, and Science

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 13-13

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   2. Caring for Babies in Danger

      • Alan R. Fleischman

      Pages 15-22

   3. Science and Controversy in the History of Infancy in America

      • Joseph F. Kett

      Pages 23-38

   4. Response to “Science and Controversy in the History of Infancy in America”

      • Margaret O’Brien Steinfels

      Pages 39-45

   5. Comment on “Science and Controversy in the History of Infancy in America”

      • Alan J. Weisbard

      Pages 47-55

4. Religion, Suffering, and Morality

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 57-57

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   2. Our Religious Traditions and the Treatment of Infants

      • David H. Smith

      Pages 59-70

   3. “Suffer the Little Children ...”

      • Thomas H. Murray

      Pages 71-82

   4. Ethical Principles for the Care of Imperiled Newborns

      • John D. Arras

      Pages 83-135

   5. The Right to Privacy and the Right to Refuse Care for the Imperiled Newborn

      • Nancy N. Dubler

      Pages 137-148

5. Images of the Abandoned

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 149-149

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   2. The Tyranny of the Normal

      • Leslie A. Fiedler

      Pages 151-159

   3. Comment on “The Tyranny of the Normal”

      • Ruth Macklin

      Pages 161-166

6. Caretakers: Images and Attitudes

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 167-167

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   2. Consensus and Controversy in the Treatment of Catastrophically Ill Newborns

      • Betty Wolder Levin

      Pages 169-205

   3. Conclusion

      • Arthur L. Caplan

      Pages 207-212

7. Back Matter

   Pages 213-223

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The fate of seriously ill newborns has captured the atten­ tion of the public, of national and state legislators, and of powerful interest groups. For the most part, the debate has been cast in the narrowest possible terms: "discrimination against the handicapped"; "physician authority"; "family autonomy." We believe that something much more profound is happening: the debate over the care of sick and dying babies appears to be both a manifestation of great changes in our feelings about infants, children, and families, and a reflection of deep and abiding attitudes toward the newborn, the handi­ capped, and perhaps other humans who are "less than" nor­ mal, rational adults. How could we cast some light on those feelings and attitudes that seemed to determine silently the course of the public debate? We chose to enlist the humanities-the dis­ players and critics of our cultural forms. Rather than closing down the public discussion, we wanted to open it up, to illuminate it with the light of history, religion, philosophy, literature, jurisprudence, and humanistically oriented sociol­ ogy. This book is a first effort to place the hotly contested Baby Doe debate into a broader cultural context.

• autonomy
• care
• cast
• child
• children
• evolution
• fat
• feeling
• intensive care
• medicine
• morality
• newborn
• philosophy
• treatment

• Institute for the Medical Humanities, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, USA

  Thomas H. Murray

• The Hastings Center, Hastings-on-Hudson, USA

  Arthur L. Caplan

Policies and ethics