Bioethical issues in neonatology

Abstract

Neonatology is a field of medicine that has developed rapidly over the last half a century, and neonatal intensive care is one of the most successful medical innovations. More and more small and vulnerable babies are able to survive today. The development of neonatology has significantly improved the limit of viability of pre-term infants and improved their quality of life. Despite their success, neonatal intensive care units are often faced with ethical questions. Ethical dilemmas regarding the treatment of pre-term infants mainly concern the issue of whether to provide or withhold treatment, and responsibility for such decisions. But who can take decisions in such situations? The present paper addresses this question from the points of view of the inviolability of life and the ethics of quality of life. Under the ethics of the inviolability or sanctity of life, an action causing the patient's death is understood to be unethical. The ethics of quality of life, on the other hand, advocates discontinuation of treatment or assistance in dying when the patient's life does not meet the minimum standards of human life. Ethical decision-making in neonatology is a very complex issue as it involves medical staff, parents, patients and society in general. Finally, differing views regarding treatment can lead to disagreement between those people who must eventually take treatment decisions for severely handicapped or dying infants.