Baby Does and the Right to Lifesaving Treatment

In the 1970s, they were a number of cases where children born with disabilities were denied lifesaving surgeries. In some cases, doctors left the decision totally up to the parents who refused the surgery because they were worried about the financial and emotional burden of raising the child. Many of these cases involved children with Down Syndrome (or Trisomy 21) with esophagheal and/or gastrointestinal blockages. If left untreated, this blockage would cause the child to starve to death. In other cases, doctors and families jointly decided not to treat the infant. (Mercurio, 2009)