THE “BETTER DEAD” BABY.

Gisborne Times, Volume LX, Issue 9798, 7 May 1924, Page 3

THE “BETTER DEAD” BABY.

THE ACCUSATION THAT THE PLUNKET SOCIETY “SAVES BABIES THAT WOULD BE BETTER DEAD.” ' (By A l . Pattrick Director of Plunket Nursing.) This theory that w© save babies : that are better deadl i I meet it constantly. To begin with;—i We do exclude absolute mental defectives from the cases admissible to [“Karitane Hospitals. ! But if a mentally defective baby (or the baby’s mother) needed and re- ; quested the help and advice, in the i home, of a Plunket nurse, surely we could not refuse it on the ground I that the baby was better dead. ! Surely we could not say that the baby must get upset and suffer thei ills of -malnutrition until it is sufficiently ill to cause death. Then look further :

You may leave a baby like that with out a fair share care and attention due to it, and still it may suffer unnecessarily, but NOT die —only live still further handicapped and miserable.

Babies do not always die when people want them to, even if neglected: and is there any' justification whatever for wittingly causing a baby suffering until that suffering in turn causes death?

At times any human 1 person 'must wish that for its own and its parents’ sake, and for the welfare of the community, a certain baby could die. But that is a problem for the medical profession and the nation to solve. How could death be inflicted without giving undue license to unprincipled people? It is a problem. On the other hand :

I know a great many babies about whose mind I, and others, have been doubtful, but with them I have kept in touch and have seen all doubts dispelled. How thankful I have been that wo did everything possible fbr them when they needed it. I have seen numbers of strong, healthy babies grow up into weakly children because of ignorance of right food, care, and attention. I have seen numbers of weakly, delicate, immature, or premature babies, handicapped at the start, but given every care and attention possible, grow up into bonnie, healthy children. I have kept in touch with numbers of these babies, writing to their parents and seeing them as I move l round; and it has impressed this fact on my mind : Vo cannot judge fairly in" these matters when the baby is very strong, it then has wonderful possibilities and recuperative power, and we cannot dismiss our personal responsibility and take up the comfortable line of least resistance by just pronouncing a baby “BETTER. DEAD.”