Planned home birth: a violation of the best interests of the child standard?

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has long and consistently championed the best interests of the child standard as the foundation of pediatric ethics. This standard obligates pediatricians to protect and promote the biopsychosocial interests of children who are patients, as these interests are determined in deliberative (evidencebased, rigorous, transparent, and accountable) clinical judgment and practice. The interests of parents do not play a direct role in the conceptualization of this standard, although the ability and willingness of parents to participate in the health care of their child can become ethically relevant considerations in some cases. It is worth noting that, in pediatric ethics, the best interests of the child standard generates the ethical obligation of parents to protect and promote the biopsychosocial interests of their children when their children are patients.