Civil rights and regulatory wrongs: the Reagan administration and the medical treatment of handicapped infants.

Publisher: Duke Univ. Press Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 7609331 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 0361-6878 (Print) Linking ISSN: 03616878 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Health Polit Policy Law Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Durham, N. C., Duke Univ. Press.

Abnormalities, Multiple* ; Civil Rights* ; Ethics, Medical* ; Euthanasia* ; Euthanasia, Passive* ; Federal Government* ; Government Regulation* ; Legislation, Medical* ; Withholding Treatment*; Patient Advocacy/*legislation & jurisprudence; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Judicial Role ; United States

Beginning in 1982 the Reagan administration tried to impose federal regulations (based on the civil rights approach of Section 504) on the medical treatment of handicapped newborns in the nation's hospitals. After issuing three sets of regulations, the administration found itself rebuffed by the courts and in ill repute with providers and parts of the public, especially after its widely publicized intervention in the case of Baby Jane Doe illustrated the pitfalls of federal regulation in complex medical decisions. Congress, however, soon enacted legislation employing different means to protect handicapped newborns. The episode offers insights into the dynamics of the U.S. system of separated powers, the limitations of the "civil rights" approach, and the importance of negotiating structures for the resolution of private moral dilemmas with public implications.

Indexing Agency: KIE Local ID #: 22457.
Keywords: Baby Jane Doe; Death and Euthanasia; Legal Approach; Rehabilitation Act 1973; U.S. Congress
Note: 52 fn. Note: KIE BoB Subject Heading: allowing to die/infants Note: Full author name: Brown, Lawrence D
Local Abstract: [KIE] In March 1983, the Department of Health and Human Services began to issue a series of "Baby Doe" notices and regulations based on Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. DHHS actions were intended to prevent hospitals from discriminating against handicapped newborns when deciding about life-prolonging care. Brown traces the regulatory measures taken by DHHS at the behest of the Reagan administration, the negative reactions of medical organizations and the resulting court cases, and the legislative compromise enacted by Congress in the form of amendments to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. He concludes that, although the "Baby Doe" regulations represent governmental good intentions gone awry, federal checks and balances did control executive branch excess while providing a legislative solution. Moreover, the regulations' fate underlines the dangers of attempting to justify federal intervention in complex social issues using a civil rights rationale.

Date Created: 19860101 Date Completed: 19861023 Latest Revision: 20190919

20221208

10.1215/03616878-11-2-231

3745838