Baby K: Medical Futility and the Free Exercise of Religion

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Abstract
Pediatricians provided expert testimony that, in the case of Baby K, provision of ventilator support goes beyond accepted standards of care for anencephalic infants and so is medically futile. This argument, however reasonable, does not persuade those who believe in the absolute value of even a fraction of human life. In Baby K, court records indicate that Ms. H, Baby K's mother, persistently adheres to the sanctity-of-life principle on religious grounds.While I think that quality-of-life considerations have a role in medical decision making, those who reject such considerations must be respected. This article makes the following claims, on behalf of religious dissenters: (1) the Baby K case should be interpreted in light of the freedom of religion guaranteed in the First Amendment (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of a religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”); (2) religious beliefs should not be trivialized in clinical ethics, even if reason, not belief, is the language of the public forum; (3) the time-honored free exercise clause (“or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ”) is essential to the American experiment in liberty and should not be overridden in the name of a concept as vague as futility; and (4) free exercise of religion deserves serious discussion in the futility debate, and significant religious accommodation must be included in any hospital or societal futility policies. In the concluding section, issues are raised regarding the balance between religious consideration and resource allocation.

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