As usual, CNN invited viewers to write in with their opinions, and, as usual, Americans and others once again demonstrated that there are an awful lot of confused people out there. Pat of the confusion has to do with the fact that the parents are Catholics and that their remarks, no doubt made under great distress, reflect only imprecisely what the teaching of the Catholic Church and, by implication, their belief, is on this issue. Actually, there are two teachings involved. Everybody has an obligation to act to bring about the common good. It is wrong to kill people.
Nobody can foretell the future.
Expected value is the value of the expectation, if realized, multiplied by the probability of realization. Money is good. More money is better. Physicians in the United Kingdom have a legal obligation to act in the best interests of their patients. The CNN contributors seem confused about these principles and, in some cases, appear to find them mutually contradictory.