The ballad of Baby Doe: parental discretion or medical neglect?

The Baby Doe legislation generated, over a 3-year period, a "large-scale national seminar" on the rights and interests of handicapped newborns and their parents. In this article, the background for the Baby Doe legislation is provided, the details of what the law says are presented, and the implications of the legislation for medical practice are discussed, including the creation of infant bioethics committees. The overall effect of the Baby Doe law will be to protect the legitimate interests of a few children who would otherwise be mistreated. It will cause some resentment among parents whose interests conflict with their children's survival, among doctors who dislike shared decision making, and among others who resist the intrusion of the state into "private affairs." Yet subjecting life-and-death medical decisions to more professional scrutiny will probably yield better treatment rather than worse treatment in a majority of cases. In addition, it may have further spin-offs that benefit both the professions and society in times to come.