[Therapy in unfavorable prognosis. Ethical dilemma in the treatment of newborn infants with severe abnormalities].

The doctor treating a baby destined to be handicapped with certainty has to find a way between the two extremes of overtreatment and selective medicine. Medico-ethical directives cannot replace personal commitment in this process. The observation of the jargon used in team discussions can reveal tendencies to one or the other extreme position. An attitude is proposed that tries to balance the gain in joy of life, in possibilities for human relations and in experience of life, the start or pursuit of a therapeutic measure possibly allows against the pain, discomfort and deprivation it inevitably entails.