title: An ethical priority greater than life itself.
abstract: This article discusses a case in this issue of The Journal of Clinical Ethics by McCrary and colleagues, "Elective Delivery Before 39 Weeks' Gestation Reconciling Maternal, Fetal, and Family Circumstances," in which parents asked the medical team to deliver their fetus "early." The author discusses (1) the importance that parents have to a child when they are able to love the child, and how important it is for decision makers to consider this; (2) exceptional approaches that may enable parents to "change their minds"; and (3) substantive and procedural innovations that may help to prevent clinicians' views from playing too big a role and/or being arbitrary. The author concludes by describing how he felt when reading the case and uses this to illustrate how clinicians may benefit by assessing their feelings.
authors.affiliation: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Edmund G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Howe
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous; D000037:Abruptio Placentae / Q000517:prevention & control; D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000941:ethics; D003071:Cognition; D003657:Decision Making / Q000941:ethics*; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D004644:Emotions; D026822:Ethicists / Q000592:standards; D033061:Ethics Consultation / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000941:ethics; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations / Q000941:ethics*; D010820:Physicians / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D047928:Premature Birth; D050497:Stillbirth; D014481:United States