Well, first of all, I believe in euthanasia - but in the case of adults who *want* it (or would want it if they were capable of thinking for themselves, as in the case of PVS).
As for the case of the babies - if you have scarce resource allocation, and spending effort trying to save the babies would prevent you from, say, saving someone else's life, then you have a choice to make, and I can see either side (trying to save the baby or giving up on it) as being justified - especially if you let the mother and doctor make a rational decision together.
However, if you have (effectively) unlimited resources, then the only downside of trying to save the preemie is the "pain to the premie" and, given a choice between instant, painless death, and tremendous pain with a 1% chance of survival, a value judgment has to be made, and again, I can see both sides being justified.
I guess what I'm saying is I don't think there should be a "general rule" except if it's a clear economic (resource-wise) advantage to give up on the babies.
I agree with your conclusion (whoa! freaky! :), that's the part that really outrages me. Have you ever seen a show called "Dinosaurs"? The epi when grandma was supposed to toddle off to the tar pits?
I never saw that episode (actually, I'm not sure if I ever saw a whole episode), but there was a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode in which Mrs. Troi fell in love with a guy who was supposed to commit suicide on his 60th birthday...dunno if that's similar :p
As for the case of the babies - if you have scarce resource allocation, and spending effort trying to save the babies would prevent you from, say, saving someone else's life, then you have a choice to make, and I can see either side (trying to save the baby or giving up on it) as being justified - especially if you let the mother and doctor make a rational decision together.
However, if you have (effectively) unlimited resources, then the only downside of trying to save the preemie is the "pain to the premie" and, given a choice between instant, painless death, and tremendous pain with a 1% chance of survival, a value judgment has to be made, and again, I can see both sides being justified.
I guess what I'm saying is I don't think there should be a "general rule" except if it's a clear economic (resource-wise) advantage to give up on the babies.
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