A hospital in the south of France has been found guilty of taking excessive measures when they successfully revived a newborn baby that had been declared stillborn. The baby's heartbeat had dropped during delivery, and the baby seemed to be dead upon birth. After twenty-five minutes of attempted resuscitation, the gynecologist informed the parents that the baby was dead, but staff continued their efforts and the heartbeat returned. The baby has since suffered severe mental and physical disabilities due to the trauma.
The parents' lawyer was pleased with the decision, which he says is unprecedented in France. "For the first time, a tribunal recognizes that a life without consciousness is not a life," he said. He accused the hospital of having "forced to revive a child." According to Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, the decision could have far-reaching consequences for children born with various anomalies. If the decision is taken seriously, he said, "it will once again dehumanize people born with disabilities, to the point where their lives will be considered incompatible with life. The judge should have said that while the ethics of [the extraordinary measures] might be questionable, now that that child is alive, we cannot question this. If someone is alive, it should simply be deemed that their life is worthy of life, and we should not be judging that life as having value or somehow being a life that should not have happened. Being alive should be enough."
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