Abstract

KIE: Recent legal and ethical developments in Dutch neonatology are summarized. In 1988, a surgeon published an account of the death of a newborn [Baby Ross] with Down syndrome when he, the surgeon, concurred with the parents' refusal of surgery to correct atresia of the duodenum and small intestine. When the story became public, the physician was prosecuted, though his petition against this action was upheld by the courts. In November 1992, the Dutch Pediatrics Society [Dutch Union of Paediatrics] issued its final report, "Acting or Deciding to Forgo: Limits of Medical Treatment in Neonatology," which discussed the ethical, legal, and policy issues involved in treatment decisions concerning seriously ill, handicapped, or premature infants.