The Washington times., 1936-09-22
FATHER SAY 5
NO. MOTHER
SAYS YES
Surgeons Say Child
Has One Chance in
5000 to Live
CONTINUED from Page u

make an inciSion, and provide
an outlet for natural elimination.
To this, the father says INC"
The mother begs that it be done.
Julian Tafel, the father, q ga
rage mechanic, cried:
eft would be q sin to let the
poor child i've"
WIFE WANTS BABY
And his 22-year-old wife, Eva,
Sobbed:
at would be a sin not to give
him q chance to live.
81 want him. Oh, I want
him. We can't let him die with
out trying to do something"
But, still preferring a mercy
death" for his son, the father
said:
'"The poor child would prOba-
bly, be o helpless, bed-riden in
valid all his life.
when he became old enough
to understand, he would curse
us for. allowing him to live."
LIFE IS EBBING
DR.. Eastman, the hospital chief
Of staff, declared there is no
chance whatever" for the baby to
live unless the operation is per-
formed. He explained:
:.eThe infant is literally starv.
ing to death since the intestinal
malfOrmatiOn makes it impOssi'
BILE for him to absorb nOurtSh-
,ment or expel waste"
In q room just around the cor
ner from his mothers, Baby Tafel
lies amid the baskets Of a half
dozen healthy, gurgling, cooling
babies. He cries almost continu-
ally in the agony his tiny warped
body brings him.
At birth, last Thursday, he
weighed 8 pounds 1914 ounces, was
described by nurses as "a fine
looking baby" and was apparently
normal in every way. But within
a short time the malformation
manifested itself, precipitating the
decision racking the souls OF a
heart-broken father and mother
Growing Weaker
sDr. Eastman said: .. 81
'eWith every passing hour the
baby becomes weaker and his
chances of even surviving the
operation become less. But we
cannot operate without Mr..
TafeIS consent"
The father added:
'But if he lives he will always
require constant attention. Eva
win have to wait ON him hand
and foot, neglecting her own
welfare, and the welfare Of our
other child for his sake. ! can't
allow it,
DOCTOR HOLDS HOPE
Still the mother begged:
"But there iS always hope"
Her pleas was echoed by DR.
Eastman, who declared:
eyes, there is always the hope
that . development i'm surgery
in coming years may aid the
present condition. But, nOw?"
He shrugged his shoulders jr
answer to the unspoken question.
stuart Krohn, attorney for the
hospital and himself the son Of
physician, declared that, in the
cold eyes of the law, the baby de
serves every effort on the part Of
the medical profession to sustain
the spark of life in its body.
The decision precipitatsd q ter
rifle uproar in medical, clerica
and lay circles. An effort wal
made to prosecute DR.. Haiselden
but 0 coroner's jury decided tina
no physician should be forced tx
act against his own conscience.
On the heads of the miserable
parents Of the Tafel baby a SINH
lar storm fell today, as they strug
gled for an answer to the momen
tous problem, an answer they mus
soon agree upon ere their stricken
child starves to death.
This morning the mother, Eva
who is 20 and has healthy az
year-old daughter, Cornelia, CRIED
as she viewed her newborn in the
bright hospital room:
~ brought him into the world.
/ want him to live"
In sober manner, shaking his