When a pregnant woman is knowingly causing harm to her unborn child, there are various legal interventions that can be taken to protect the rights if the fetus.
Physicians are obligated in many jurisdictions to perform life-sustaining treatments on premature infants with serious developmental or physical impairments, even if it goes against the parents' wishes.
David Collier, MD, PhD, Ronald M. Perkin, MD, MA, and Joseph R. Zanga, MD
The legal definitions of child neglect and child abuse are not as clear cut when faced with the issue of whether parents should be held responsible for failing to follow weight-loss plans for a morbidly obese child.
A case that describes how treatment decisions for a seriously ill baby should consider the advice and recommendations of the medical team as well as the parental preferences for the child's care.
In part II of a pre-med student's experiences with his aging grandfather, the student struggles with his strong-willed grandfather's unwillingness to comply with doctors' orders.