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Rejecting the Baby Doe rules and defending a "negative" analysis of the Best Interests Standard

Loretta M Kopelman1

  • 1Department of Medical Humanities, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA. kopelmanlo@mail.ecu.edu

The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy
|July 21, 2005
PubMed

Insights

The "Baby Doe" Rules for infant medical decisions should be rejected. They hinder compassionate care and are inferior to the Best Interests Standard for all incompetent individuals.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Ethics
  • Bioethics
  • Pediatric Policy

Background:

  • Two conflicting policies govern medical decisions for critically ill infants: the Best Interests Standard and the
  • Baby Doe
  • Rules.
  • The
  • Baby Doe
  • Rules, established 20 years ago, present specific challenges and differ from the established Best Interests Standard.
  • This analysis explores the historical context and rationale behind the existence of two sets of
  • Baby Doe
  • Rules.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Critically evaluate the
  • Baby Doe
  • Rules in pediatric medical decision-making.
  • Compare and contrast the
  • Baby Doe
  • Rules with the Best Interests Standard.
  • Argue for the rejection of the
  • Baby Doe
  • Rules in favor of the Best Interests Standard for all incompetent individuals.

Main Methods:

  • Policy analysis of medical decision-making standards for infants.
  • Ethical critique of the
  • Baby Doe
  • Rules and their justifications.
  • Comparative evaluation of the Best Interests Standard and the
  • Baby Doe
  • Rules.

Main Results:

  • The
  • Baby Doe
  • Rules are found to be detrimental, hindering compassionate and individualized medical decision-making.
  • The justifications for the
  • Baby Doe
  • Rules, including "right-to-life" and "benign misunderstanding" arguments, are refuted.
  • The
  • Baby Doe
  • Rules undermine efforts to minimize infant suffering and create inequitable treatment standards.

Conclusions:

  • The
  • Baby Doe
  • Rules should be rejected due to their negative impact on infant care and ethical principles.
  • The Best Interests Standard offers a superior framework for medical decision-making for all incompetent individuals, including infants.
  • A "negative" analysis of the Best Interests Standard supports its application in ensuring ethical and individualized care.

Keywords:
Analytical ApproachDeath and EuthanasiaLegal Approach

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