Is the Born Alive Infant Protection Act Justified?
One of the most controversial medical issues is the resuscitation of newborns that do not have a high probability of surviving. The United States enacted fully the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act (BAIPA) in 2002. The United States Department of Health and Human Services later issued the enforcement guidelines for the law (Conway, 2009). The department outlined the clinical procedures that healthcare providers needed to follow in resuscitation and care of infants born between twenty and twenty-four weeks gestation. However, since its enactment, the law has received minimal attention and many neonatologists are unfamiliar with the act. In addition, a survey conducted on neonatologists indicated that most of them did not support the legislation because if it would change the practice of medicine if enforced (Arkes, 2013). Furthermore, the law expands the definition of a person to include the provision that a fetus expelled from the mother’s womb constitutes a person. In this case, the law holds that as long as the fetus shows signs of life that include breathing, the pulsation of the umbilical cord and muscle movement either voluntary or involuntary, the child is regarded to be alive. The article explores the issues surrounding the law and provides an analysis of the best course of action in regards to the issues.
Initially, many people understood the act as an antiabortion legislation that grants legal status to infants in the United States born alive, regardless of the manner of birth; in essence, it changed what it means to be born alive. The initial controversy appeared when the Neonatal Resuscitation Program issued an opinion stating that that the law should not change ...
... middle of paper ...
...iversity of Houston Law Center.
Gibson, J. (2009, June 6). Who Should Decide the Survivability of Newborns? Retrieved from Brain Blogger: http://brainblogger.com/2009/06/06/who-should-decide-the-survivability-of-newborns/
Parker, S. (2014, March 17). Strengthen the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act. Retrieved May 3, 2014, from The Patriot Post: https://patriotpost.us/opinion/24065
Partridge, J. C., Sendowski, M. D., Drey, E. A., & Martinez, A. M. (2009). Resuscitation of Likely Nonviable Newborns: Would Neonatology Practices in California Change if the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act Were Enforced? Pediatrics, 1088-1094.
Stanek, J. (2008, January 10). Top 10 reasons Obama voted against the Illinois Born Alive Infant Protection Act. Retrieved May 3, 2014, from Illinois Review: http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2008/01/top-10-reasons.html
Kemp, Joe. “Fetus of pregnant, brain-dead Texas woman ‘distinctly abnormal’: lawyers.” NYDailyNews. New York Daily News. 23 Jan. 2014. Web. 08 Feb. 2014.
Neonatal nursing is a field of nursing designed especially for both newborns and infants up to 28 days old. The term neonatal comes from neo, "new", and natal, "pertaining to birth or origin”. Neonatal nurses are a vital part of the neonatal care team. These are trained professionals who concentrate on ensuring that the newborn infants under their care are able to survive whatever potential life threatening event they encounter. They treat infants that are born with a variety of life threatening issues that include instances of prematurity, congenital birth defects, surgery related problems, cardiac malformations, severe burns, or acute infection. Neonatal care in hospitals was always done by the nursing staff but it did not officially become a specialized medical field until well into 1960s. This was due to the numerous advancements in both medical care training and related technology that allowed for the improved treatment and survival rate of premature babies. According to the March of Dimes, one of every thirteen babies born in the United States annually suffers from low birth weight. This is a leading cause in 65% of infant deaths. Therefore, nurses play a very important role in providing round the clock care for these infants, those born with birth defects or other life threatening illness. In addition, these nurses also tend to healthy babies while their mothers recover from the birthing process. Prior to the advent of this specialized nursing field at risk newborn infants were mostly cared for by obstetricians and midwives who had limited resources to help them survive (Meeks 3).
In order for the pro-life argument to be valid, it must have both a true premise and true conclusion. It falls short of validity by assuming that a fetus up to 22 weeks old is a person, and has its own rights independent of its host, or what we often refer to as its mother. First we must recognize the subtle, yet extremely important distinction between a human being and a person. It is obvious that a fetus is a member of the human ...
Aiding the death of infants is a much disputed controversy in healthcare. H. Tristram Engelhardt Jr. provides an ethical view that there is a moral duty not to treat an impaired infant when this will only prolong a painful life or would only lead to a painful death. It is these individuals, like Engelhardt, who must defend this position against groups who consider that we have the ability to prolong the lives of impaired infants, thus we are obligated to do so.
Opinions, views and emotions run high and passion is their fuel. Pro-Choice activists declare it is a woman’s right to choose what she does with her own body. The biology versus medical definitions proclaim that an embryo is not yet a human life; as conception begins two to three weeks after implantation occurs, a heartbeat is heard, and a the embryo can sustain life outside of the womb. The laws vary from state to state and in our home state of Texas political parties clash so hard the state shakes with a jolt felt across the country. Arguments weigh in from all over the globe against abortion and none more prevalent that of churches all over the world. For Pro-Life activists, there is no middle ground; human life begins at the moment of conception.
At the same that the fetus is achieving minority status, the pro-life ideology is also placing its fate into the tale of our nation, making protection of the fetus crucial to the country's future. "Since we "are" what we have always "done," we violate our true selves if we act in ways that are different" (Condit, 44).
She was a 24-week-old premature infant. I had never seen anything so fragile yet so resilient in my life. Every time she took a breath her lungs would completely collapse. To inhale, she had to pull everything up from on her back, out from her rib cage, and inflate her lungs. She was a powerhouse! Instinctively doing everything she could to stay alive. She died hours later. She was the youngest and smallest infant ever to be born alive at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.We will never know her full potential, and the loss of the opportunity for someone to become an asset to society is something that I cannot tolerate. Thus, my desire to become a neonatologist was affirmed.
In the absence of an agreement determining when life begins, state sovereignty has allowed state legislators the authority to shape a state’s policy on abortion. Thus, what has occurred across the United States is the ability for states to enact legislation which places severe limitations on when and how a pregnancy may be te...
There are more than 70% of premature babies that are born between 34 and 36 weeks gestation a year. When a baby is born early, or born with birth defects, the Neonatal Intensive Care unit is its first home. The nurse’s in the NICU have the difficult job of preparing baby’s and parents for a health life together. A baby who has been put into the NICU will stay there until it is healthy enough to go home.
Recently, a family decided to end treatment for their 21 month old baby girl in the only “humane way” possible: nutrition withdrawal (Bever, 2014). In September, 19-month old Natalie Newton wandered into the family’s pool unsupervised by her parents. When she was found, Natalie was blue in the face from lack of oxygen and immediately rushed to the hospital. Though they were able to revive her, doctors informed the family that Natalie would not live; she was deaf, blind, unable to move and ultimately brain dead from being withdrawn from oxygen for as long as she had been. While Natalie remained immobile and dead to the world, her parents begged the physicians to euthanize their child. However, currently in the state of Texas, euthanziation is illegal and the hospital’s ethics committee would not allow it. The only method they allowed that they considered humane, was to withhold both nutrition and hydration from Natalie. While it’s always traumatic for any parent to watch their child die, the Newton’s looked on as it took nine full days for Natalie to finally pass away from lack of nutrition. The parents argue ...
In 1973, the supreme court passed a law called “Roe v. Wade case”. The law was passed to, “allow abortion on demand in the first trimester of a pregnancy.” (Robert H. lauer) The law has been under scrutiny by opponents of
Thadani, Rahul. "The Public Should Oppose Designer Baby Technology." Designer Babies. Ed. Clayton Farris Naff. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "Designer Babies Debate." http://www.buzzle.com. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Abortion cannot be discussed unless you know the origin of the debate. In December 13, 1971, the argument of abortion surfaced (“Roe v. wade,”). The class action suit was brought by a pregnant single woman who challenged the constitutionality of the Texas criminal abortion laws, which proscribe or attempting an abortion except on medical advice for the purpose of saving the mother’s life (“Roe v. wade,”). Proceeding Roe v. Wade, abortion was illegal in almost every State. In 1973, the courts ruled and abortion became legal again.
A neonatologist has many tasks and responsibilities before, during, and after the birth of an at-risk newborn. If there is reason to believe there are going to be complications with a birth that would cause negative side effects for the infant, a neonatologist will be brought in to help. In these high-risk situations, a team effort is required and the neonatologist takes the lead position. The neonatologist will be responsible for advising the parents on what to expect during and after labor. After the infant is born, the neonatologist has to find a method to properly care for the baby. Because most premature babies have a low birth-weight, their lungs need to be supported and they need to be kept warm. During this whole process, the neonatologist interacts with the parents to keep them updated on their baby’s condition (Weaver, 2009).
“How far along in a pregnancy is it until the unborn child is considered human? At what point does it receive basic rights?” These propositions have been the topic of one the most controversial discussions of the century. Based on the research I have completed on this topic, it has been made indisputable to me that life begins at the moment of conception.