Free Republic

The Bush administration issued guidelines yesterday advising physicians and hospitals that under a 2002 law they are obligated to care for fetuses "born alive" naturally or in the process of an abortion, and medical providers could face penalties for withholding treatment. The law, signed by President Bush nearly three years ago, conferred legal rights on fetuses "at any stage of development." It specifies that a fetus that is breathing, has a beating heart, a pulsating umbilical cord or muscle movement should be considered alive and entitled to protection under federal emergency medical laws and child abuse statutes. Several physicians interviewed...

Deadly hernia corrected in womb Surgeons have developed an operation to repair a potentially fatal abnormality in babies before they are born. Some babies develop a hole in their diaphragm which leads to their gut or liver moving into their chest, and squashing their lungs. The new operation, pioneered at London's King's College Hospital, has reduced death rates in the most at risk by 50%. Details are published in Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology. The condition, known as a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), is a relatively common foetal abnormality - occurring in about one in every 3,000 pregnancies. It...