Selective Nontreatment of Handicapped Newborns

Reviews / Votes

Although much has been written recently on the subject matter of this book, it is either medically oriented, technical but lacking in moral considerations, or written by ethicists who have equally impenetrable prose and little first-hand experience of the clinical situation. Dr. Weir has skilfully bridged this divide and produced a highly readable book...This book is essential reading for all those "at the front" in neonatal intensive care. * The Lancet * The first full-length analysis of this subject to be produced since the famous (or infamous) "Baby Doe" case in 1982...Presents careful research and thorough documentation of the decisional problems created by the birth of seriously handicapped newborns...relevant reading for physicians, attorneys, and others concerned with this gripping dilemma. * New England Journal of Medicine * The first detailed and ethical account to take seriously both the medical and legal realities of dealing with impaired infants...Should be required reading for anyone involved in or concerned about these decisions. * Social Science and Medicine * A thorough and admirably dispassionate job dissecting out and examining the critical issues entangled in this problem...Presents several major schools of thought, with clear explanations of relevant legal and ethical principles...Weir's arguments are persuasive, but even the reader who disagrees with his conclusions will be impressed by his careful research of the problem and his thoughtful analysis of the issues involved. * The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine *