Medical debate rages over when premature babies should be saved

September 8, 2009

Almost three years ago, experts on medical ethics provoked public outrage when they published guidelines advising doctors not to resuscitate premature babies born before 22 weeks in the womb. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics had stepped gingerly into an area which was already the topic of fierce debate. During a two-year inquiry, its working party took evidence not just from doctors and nurses in neonatal medicine, but from professors of philosophy, and religious leaders. (Telegraph)