Pancreatic islet-acinar interactions

for an infant the parents must ultimately decide"-with the doctor helping the parents to understand the choices.5 In their responses to the present case (22 August, p 567) both the BMA and the British Paediatric Association have reiterated these principles. We believe that in the absence of a clear code to which society adheres there is no justification for usurping parents' rights, or for believing that the courts are any more likely to reach a more humane solution. We must beware of that slippery slope that would lead to the nonchalant taking of lives found to be substandard, inconvenient, or expensive; but the "existence-at-all-costs" view points to a terrain no less treacherous. Letting nature take its course in certain circumstances is to acknowledge that there might sometimes be a right not to live-but we badly need to clear our confusions about what these circumstances are.