By Criwinr Russell and Charles R Babcock
      -hsw#-
Tlte Reagan administration yesterday warned

the natton's hospitals that they 034 lose govern.
mcnt tintds if they deny food or treatment UI new-
born Infants with birth defwta.

The wamirp Iran the Health and Human Ser.
vices Dtpanment--considered a novel appliation
ol a federal law prohibiting discrimination againu
the handlapped-hollowed axnplaim by `right-
tdiie' groups and a recent directive from Pras-
ident Flagan

The deputmenr in a notica to nearly 7.WO
hapitals, cited -heightened public concern about
hs adquacy d medical treatment of newborn
infants with birth defecu'

HHS Secretary Rii S. Schweiker noted tbe
recent nrciond publicity surrounding tbe death of
a hby boar dtb Ihm'r syndrome in Blooming-
ton. hi. The parents d -Baby Doe- asked that
food be withheld and refused to authorize tmt-
ment to co~eet a life-threatening defti assnciat-
ed with the disorder. which caw menul retar-
darbth

in addition. an HHS spokesman said that the
department thii week sent an investigator. 10
Cnrvford Memorial Hapital in Robinson Ill. (o
check a complaint by national and Ical `right-to-
life- grnups that surgical treatment is being with.
held Cmm a bshy horn with a serious binh defact
knwn as spinal bifida

Tk breadth of yesterday's warning surpriwd
hospitals and medical gnwpa whtxe spokclmen
esprewd concern about potential interference in
the pmctice oi medicine and the legality d using
law to protect the handicapped for this purpuse.

Croups npresentirq the handicapped wel-
mmed the administration's intaresf but said it
didn'l jihe with Reagan's plans to mt Maral ti-
namial aid to the handicapped and to weaken the
regulations hat already protect them.
In its twqagc letter to hocpiti that-nxeive
Medicaid or Medicwe funds. HHS Ofice for
Gil Righu said that the gwemntent will apply
S&on 504 of the Rehabilitation Act d 1973 to
cesm imdvittg he medii an d infant. with
birth defecta and will consider `termination of
federal as&awe- to institutiom that do not corn-
ply.

It mid that it is `unlawful' for hmpit& to
richhold fmm handicapped infants food or med-
ial or surgical treatment rquired to correct a
life-threatening condition. if tb handicap `dces
tmc render the tmtment or nuriitional susIc-
medically amtmindiatad.'

The notice also warned that hospital, -should

Rkkrd S Scbreiker acted mat case d-Baby Doa"
not aid a decision. by tba inlant*s parenta . . . to
withhold tmtment or nourishment discriminato-
rilv C allwing the infant to remain in the insti.
tug and said that hnrpitals will also be held
cesponsibh IN tk %xtduct o(ph~Giuu.-
Betty IA ibuon. director d HHS' Office for
Ciiil Rights. acknowledged yesterday tbat al.
though the rehabiiiotion law has heen on the
hrnks since 193. this appanntlv is the first time
it has been applied to the m&al tmtment of
handicapped children.

To the best d our kndedge. it ha not hren
used in this manner.' she said.
Justice Department sPIkesman John W&on
said civil riahb Isur?,rs rhere -are rwearchinp the

law- but haw I& yel cnncluded what legal actions
an k taken. `We've never been confronld vith
this behe. Thii is nod-

Miihael Bromberg. d the Federation ol Amer-
ican Hce.pit&. quationad the legality d the new
HHS effort. saying he had never heard of apply-
ing tk 304' rqulatiom to `patient ewe or med-
ical traatmen~- He said that tbe hrradth of the
HHS letter could Ynrce a flood ol court cases-
because d ?remmdous legal cunlliit between
what this notice is truing to do and pareneal and
phyGcian authnrity.'

A statement by the American Hospital Asso-.
ciation c&d the HHS letter a `simpiiitic solution
co complex situations involved in health care de-.
hey and charged tht it could `create an adver-
&al relationship hew-em hospital and parenu
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furmed on these children'

Paul Mar&and. director nf gwemmenral af-1
fairs for tk Association for Retarded Citizens.
ssid >zsterday that gmups representing the dis-
abled haw been meeting regularty to try to devel- Y
op a pnctical solution for tmtiq handicapped.
infanu But he said he +ved the governmenti :
action pnterday with some skepticism. l-here is:
irony here and we're trying to use the pmident's *
memo aa a positive s+ twm caIling df the
doas on .W-

!&rchar.d noted thet the pmident's a&n `ie-
the tint and only positive ection [Reezan has U-
ken1 for the disabled since he hpr set foot in the
White House.' He cited what he termed -asurm-
no&al- budget cuu for pnynm s fnr the hand-
icappedi and cflom by Justice and the Office and
Management and Budget to rewrite the Section
5&l rsgubtit~

The extent to which HHS plans UJ en&we its
warning is not .yet clear. Down said t' st the let-;
.ter was intended as a -reminder- to hospitals and:
that the department will fnllori up ,n spccttic.
cumplainta, such u the I;linois caw.
Gary Curran. a consulmt to tk Amerian Life'
Lobby. emphasiied that `notification b nnt:
enough to make sure these t&a lives are wed.
There L gning to haw to be rhomuch surveillance.
hr compliinct with thex lai\r and vigorous pm.
ecutiun il they are violated.'
BUL one outside medical snurce sugznvd that
the n&e to hospitals was apparently regarded
within HHS as'more a public nbcion$ mow than
anything else.'

In the lllinnir caw. Carltnn King. administmtor ;
of Cmwfnrd Memorial Hwpital. said he couldn't
comment on the specifics. Qor he added. -Every
infant is getting tisimum rare. WC wooid never
deny treatment In snl; ptient.'