Treatment of defective newborns--a survey of paediatricians in Poland.
We report the results of a survey of the attitudes and practices of paediatricians in Warsaw, Poland, with respect to the treatment of infants born with severe handicaps. The results are compared with a similar survey conducted by Australian researchers (1). In the Polish medical community surveyed, unconditional respect for life is a dominant attitude. Our study has revealed a deeply-entrenched paternalistic attitude among Polish doctors and a strong unwillingness to distinguish between 'ordinary and extraordinary means' of prolonging life, as well as an ambivalent attitude towards legal regulations binding in Poland.
Szawarski
Z
Z
Warsaw University, Poland.
Tulczyński
A
A
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001927:Brain Diseases; D002410:Catholicism; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000628:therapy*; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D028601:Euthanasia, Active; D005066:Euthanasia, Passive; D033161:Government Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D038622:Internationality; D033282:Parental Consent; D026706:Paternalism; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D018579:Patient Selection; D010372:Pediatrics; D011044:Poland; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D026712:Value of Life; D028761:Withholding Treatment