New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-11-19
SAVE DEFECTIVE
BABY, WOMEN SAY
heath of Bollinger Infant
Gives Fresh Impetus to
Discussion Here.
CHICAGO DOCTOR
FINDS SUPPORTERS
Decision 70 Let Child Die Dan
gerous. Specialists Assert
Court Should Have Say.

Tho death of the Bolinger baby,
..hosc life Dr.. j. H. Haisel6en. of Chi
,aeo. refused 10 save by an operation.
- Ear from putting an end 70 the dis
.rs.ion about the matter. has given it
fresh Impetus. Yesterday New Yoik's
n,e1cal and social circles were more
he, ever dis ded over the question Of
ahs,ber physician should. i'm any cir
.nr.tsnees whatever, be permitted TO
sold in MS hand the decision Of life
o. death for q defective child. Women
nbvsieians. however. generally opposed
Jeereeing a defective infants death.
@Euman life is tremendous thing.
In r,y opinion. the physician should
ao everything in MS power TO preserve
II no matter what the circumstances"
aid Miss Alice Hill Chittenden. presi-
don, Of the state Anti-SuTrage Organi-
ration.
Regarding Mrs. Bollinger's decision
% lei her baby die rather than live
n defective. Miss Chittenden said: ITO
me. the life Of those ! love means so
much. and death seems such a crushing
thing that cannot quite understand
her decision
DR.. Brooks Wells. of 523 Madison
Avenue. Of the staff of the Woman $
Hospital. fA1 West i09th Street. de-
clared that in certain circumstances
he thought no other course could be
followed than that OF the Chicago
rbvsician. II think we shall learn that
he physician was right in acting as he
did. in the circumstances of that lndl
vidual case" he said.
Calls Such Decisions Dangerous.
Dr. Henry W. Frauenthal, of 100
West Fifty-ninth Street, an authority
on the mentally defective, declared that
he thought such decisions were TOO
dangerous for any physician TO make.
in q way, adhere to the old Spar
tan idea that great many Of the men
tally defective would be better on the
map" he said. "But the decision is
one for the court. not for us. How is
4 doctor going to say just how a men
tally defective child will turn out!
have seen case after case where there
seemed to be almost no hope OF de-
velopment when the child was rev
DAYS old. where later II developed at
least 20 or 50 per cent Of the norman
powers.
~If they were acting because the
Pollinger baby was physically defec-
tive. then | think they were wrong.
some of the most brilliant children /
know are physically deformed. | think
the world would be shocked II every
doctor should take it upon himself TO
LET all the physically defective or the
mentally defective children whom he
attends die
70 he settled BY the court comment
ed Mrs Simon baruch, antisufragist.
In The case of an emergency, lcoun-
ell of doctors might DE given the
mower 10 act I'm case like this, but |
do not think that any one physician
should be given such power.
state Should Decide.
Dr. Mary Halton. of Gle Madison
Avenue. declared that DR.. Haiselden
was assuming God-like power over
human life in mis- decision to let the
infant die.
when human beings have the right
10 death the state should help them
die" said Dr.. Halton. who is an expert
on children's diseases. mo one IN
dividual should be given this power"
81 do not see how any physician
should take such power into his own
hands" said DR.. Winfield Ayres, Of
6ls Madison Avenue. Perhaps no one
could contend that the child would
have been better off living than dead.
But does that justify the physician IN
assuming so much responsibility
DR.. Cornelia c. Brant, dean or the
New York Medical College and Hos
pital for Women, said:
81 can conceive Of no situation IN
which Il is ever right for physician
10 take life. The Lord giveth and the
Lord taketh away A defective baby
must not be destroyed like an injured
dog or a superAuous cat. Human prob
lens have their intellectual and spir-
itusl side"
DR.. Addisone S. Boyce, Of the same
institute. said that any physician who
was convinced that newborn child
was mentally or physically unfit to live
Us life was justified in becoming
passive agent to permit its life to be
come extinct.
But there should always be con-
saltstion," she added.
Death Sometimes Better Than Life.
Death i, far better than life in
many instances" held DR.. Darlington
Williams. resident physician Of st.
Mays Hospital for Children. Were
,uszzusp1lRyp,unuvruos