by Jesi Smith
Keeping Our Faith
The Journal of Medical Ethics published on March 17, 2016 a survey compiled from 490 out of 3000 practicing neonatologists. The survey showed 76% of the neonatologists thought it was ethically permissible to issue a ‘Do Not Attempt Resuscitation’, (DNAR), without asking or notifying the parents for an infant when they “felt it impossible” for the child to survive. 61% of the neonatologists said a DNAR without parental consent was permissible when survival was ‘unlikely’. (You can read the article from Bioedge - Unilateral-do-not-resuscitate-orders using this link.)
Lane Hauber had a ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ put on his file as a newborn without his parent’s knowledge or consent. The first few days of his life the hospital staff had been optimistic and talked of how Lane would be treated with heart surgery. However, everything changed three days after Lane was born and he was diagnosed with an extra 18th chromosome. Lane’s father, Alex, arrived in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for a visit to find a ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ (DNR) in paperwork attached to his son’s crib. When Lane’s parents asked who had put the DNR on his file, they were ushered into a private room with the doctor and told the hospital “can make the decision to place a ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ on a patient without the parent’s approval.”
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