"The instant the child is born it cannot be the mother's or anyone else's prerogative to simply allow it to die of non-treatment."
It is a legal decision decided by parent(s), who have the medical power-of-attorney. Somebody almost always has that right, regardless of the age of the patient, unless the individual has an advanced directive. A spouse can accompany a patient to the ER, and say, "Just comfort care this time." Parents can say, "The fight is over; pull the plug." The first ventilator I ever turned off was on a 9-year old brain-dead girl, who had been hit by a car maybe a week earlier.
"Or of exposure to the elements"
That brings to mind putting a newborn out in the woods, (whereupon, of course, a passing female wolf warms the child, blah, blah), but...that's murder. If you mean naked in a cool room, that doesn't happen. The baby would be dried, wrapped in a blanket, and either given to the mother or placed in a warming incubator. |
