It's old, but the book Playing God in the Nursery by Jeff Lyon is still one of the best sources on the baby Doe cases, and other cases of that nature.

One case haunts me. There was a child with moderate/severe birth defects born in Indiana IIRC. Care would be provided for the child, but care in that state's system was distributed on a "triage" basis : The severity of the child's condition, the likelihood and extent of projected improvement, and the educational and intellecual level of the parent(s). The last was justified on the need for the parent to take charge of the daily after care, giving medicine, etc.

The little boy's case was turned down, and it later was learned (the parents sued) that children with more severe defects had been accepted and treated. So why was the little boy rejected, if he had less severe defects, and his parents were highly motivated and loving?

The little boy was named Stonewall Jackson "Doe".

I believe that the state medical officials (it was above the Mason-Dixon line, even if it wasn't Indiana) took one look at that "redneck" name and just ASSumed the parents had to be too stupid and ignorant to be able to care for the child. Or maybe they ASSumed they were racists, so they deserved to be punished...Or that the child was obviously genetically inferior, having parents "like that." I don't know-but I truly believe that child was allowed to die because of (probably subconscious) disapproval of his name.

This is not new: killing those inconvenient to the guardian has been happening since the early 80s. Remember the case of Baby Doe in Indiana?

Baby Doe

Unfolding today
A miracle play
This Indiana morn
The father - he sighs
She opens her eyes
Their baby boy is born
"We don't understand
He's not like we planned"
The doctor shakes his head
"Abnormal" they cry
And so they decide
This child is better dead

I bear the blame
Believers are few
And what am I to do?
I share the shame
The cradle's below
And where is Baby Doe?

A hearing is sought
The lawyers are bought
The court won't let him eat
The papers applaud
When judges play God
This child is getting weak
They're drawing a bead
Reciting their creed
"Respect a woman's choice"
I've heard that before
How can you ignore?
This baby has a voice

I bear the blame
Believers are few
And what am I to do?
I share the shame
The cradle's below
And where is Baby Doe?
Where will it end?
Oh, no...

It's over and done
The presses have run
Some call the parents brave
Behind your disguise
Your rhetoric lies
You watches a baby starve

I bear the blame.

Steve says, "I must credit both the Christian philosopher Francis Shaeffer and Village Voice columnist Nat Hentoff for their influence and inspiration in helping me to develop a foundational belief in the sanctity of human life. Ten years after the events described in this song occurred, the alarm they and others sounded rings prophetically true. But it continues to be drowned out by the rhetoric of 'freedom of choice' and 'quality of life'. A baby was born in Bloomington, Indiana with down's syndrome, and despite numerous outside pleas for adoption, the parents, doctors, and ultimately the courts agreed to allow Baby Doe to starve to death, right there in the hospital. I began writing this song with the sense of outrage that fingers those responsible and demands justice. But the more I thought about what had happened, the more I realized that I shared in the blame -- that my silence had helped clear the way for Baby Does' suffering and death. Hearing this song again leaves me feeling empty and a little numb. In our democratic society, the battle for the sanctity of human life is being lost. And when that window closes, nothing will be sacred."
(taken from liner notes to "Now The Truth Can Be Told")