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Life or death decisions in the NICU

Journal of Perinatology volume 26, pages 248–251 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

When, if ever, should we allow an extremely premature baby to die? The paper explains how that would be answered if we are guided by three reasonable assumptions.

  1. 1)

    The value a person's life has is primarily the value it has for that person, rather than a value it has in itself.

  2. 2)

    All competent persons have a right to decide for themselves whether their lives are to be prolonged.

  3. 3)

    Parents have a right to treat their children as they choose, so long as they neither abuse them nor neglect them.

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References

  1. Annas GJ . Extremely preterm birth and parental authority to refuse treatment – the case of Sydney Miller. N Engl J Med 2004; 351(50): 2121.

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  2. Feinberg J . The child's right to an open future. In: W Aiken and H LaFollette (eds). Whose Child? Littlefield & Adams: Totawa, NJ, 1980.

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  4. Annas GJ . The Rights of Patients. New York University Press: New York, 2004 p. 289.

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Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to Guillermo Godoy, MD, neonatologist at DCH Regional Medical Center of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for inviting me to speak on this topic and for his suggestions and encouragement. I am also grateful to Robert Young and the Journal's two reviewers for their helpful criticisms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

    N Richards

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  1. N Richards
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Correspondence to N Richards.

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Cite this article

Richards, N. Life or death decisions in the NICU. J Perinatol 26, 248–251 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7211483

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7211483

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