Posted on 06/06/2005 8:42:14 AM PDT by Pikamax
Babies 'should not be saved' at 24 weeks By Sarah Womack, Social Affairs Correspondent (Filed: 06/06/2005)
Doctors and nurses in Britain are being consulted on whether to let the most premature babies - around 24 weeks or less, and weighing less than 1lb - die, with treatment offered only in exceptional cases.
The proposal is supported by Baroness Warnock, Britain's leading medical ethics expert, who said she believed Britain should follow Holland in setting an age limit below which babies should not be resuscitated. Her comments were backed in principle by senior figures at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
They said some babies were being kept alive for the "satisfaction of doctors" wanting to display their medical skills, because of parental pressure or because doctors were fearful of litigation.
But in many cases the babies went on to die in intensive care wards and a high proportion would suffer cerebral palsy.
"For every story you get about a thrilled mother whose premature baby has grown up into a fine upstanding adult, there are 20 stories of misery and heartbreak from other parents," said a senior source at the Royal College.
"We don't tend to hear about those stories because people bottle them up.
"The issue is this - at 26 weeks gestation, you would expect, in a reasonable maternity unit, to be able to resuscitate half of those babies.
"If you go down to 23 weeks, that would be impossible. You would have neither the skills nor the specialist equipment to do it. All you would do is risk a lot of extra distress to the baby. It seems a futile exercise. Highly skilled units could resuscitate 10 or 20 per cent of babies at 23 weeks but most of those babies would die and, those that don't, the odds of them being without cerebral palsy is almost zero.
"At 23 weeks the chances of a live baby that isn't severely physically or mentally handicapped is less than five per cent.
"The question is why do we do it? Because it is very satisfying to doctors? Because parents want to pull out all the stops or because doctors fear someone will accuse them of negligence and not having a very good reason not to resuscitate? None of these are very good reasons."
Baroness Warnock said that setting an age limit below which babies would not be resuscitated would prevent doctors competing for the "triumph" of keeping babies alive at increasingly young ages even though they may not survive in the long term or may be left severely disabled.
In Holland, doctors do not routinely administer intensive care to babies born before 25 weeks of pregnancy. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics, a medical think-tank, is considering proposing a similar cut-off in Britain. It is consulting doctors, nurses and parents on the issue of a 24-week limit.
"Some doctors and nurses get competitive about the triumph of keeping these tiny premature babies alive," Baroness Warnock said.
"It would be better to set a minimum age than to have no form of scrutiny or regulation."
The Nuffield Council is investigating the costs of raising the disabled children premature babies often become, and the costs of intensive care in neonatal units. One study, EPICure, of babies born at 25 weeks or less, found that most went on to suffer disabilities.
The study, led by researchers at Nottingham University, showed that by the age of six only 20 per cent of surviving children had no disabilities - 22 per cent had severe disabilities, including cerebral palsy; while 34 per cent had milder problems such as a squint.
Bonnie Green, of Bliss, the premature baby charity, said: "We would not support an arbitrary limit below which babies are not resuscitated. Every baby and pregnancy is individual."
Royalty, political families, the wealthy...
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How sad that this woman can't think of any other reason to preserve life.
Need some earplugs. The sound of the culture of death marching on is deafening here! You would think though that these folks might wise up at some point. Europe is aborting itself into non-existence and the only reason America isn't is because our immigration (legal and otherwise) offsets our abortion rate.
If they allow ONE child to die who otherwise could have lived, they have violated their Hypocratic oath. Nevertheless, these are the implications being borne out in a land that no longer embraces God's existence.
My husband's cousin was less than 24 weeks when she was born. She is now 21, has cp, and just graduated high school. Everyone who knows her is happy that she is alive and in the world. She signs, talks a little, and is very smart.
Ahhhhhhh... Socialized Medicine at it's best
I guess those with cerebral palsy and other disabilities are better off dead, huh?
I have to agree. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
When my 96 year old grandmother was in the hospital with congestive heart failure doctors (students?) tried to do a mamogram because that was policy with female patients. My mother refused to give consent. They also wanted to remove a suspicious mole on her face that might have been melanoma. She was 96 and dying!! Where is the humanity in the caregivers? Would they have done that to their grandparents?
Making a 23 week infant suffer indescrible medical treatment to "practice" or to satisfy some ego trip is cruel. The outcome is almost NEVER good. Again, would they do that to their own child?
This is so disgusting I hardly know where to start.
The fact that this woman and people like her seem lacking of one of the most basic of human instinct; to care for a new born human, pretty much is a glaring admission of the monsters they are, and have become.
I agree.
One part of the digusting nature of this is the sheer banality of the comments from Baroness Warnock.
Hanna Arendt was correct when she spoke of the banality of evil.
By the way this same new item is being discussed over at DU. You should see some of the truly appalling comments there.
I think that in Britain, you can abort a baby up to 24 weeks. This is just ex-utero abortions.
That is just awful.
Similar story here.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1417056/posts
Baroness Warnock should not be resuscitated after 4.219 weeks of life.
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I agree.
The culture of death continues apace.
My now six year old son was a 23-24 weeker with a birth weight of 15.5 ozs. He is doing great with only minor complications. Are you saying my son should be dead instead of having just finished kindergarten and learniong to read, competing on a citywide swin team, playing t-ball, etc.?
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