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How much control do--or should--the courts and public policy have over the treatment of critically ill and disabled newborns? The Baby Doe incident of 1982 spurred the federal government to create a public policy making failure to treat severely disabled newborns a form of child... Read Full Overview

In April 1982, an infant boy was born in Bloomington, Indiana, with Down syndrome and a defective, but surgically correctable, esophagus. His parents refused to consent to surgery or intravenous feeding. The hospital unsuccessfully sought a court order to force treatment, and... Read Full Overview