title: Borderline viability: controversies in caring for the extremely premature infant.
abstract: Controversy surrounding the decision to resuscitate at the limits or borderline of viability has been at the center of neonatal ethical debate for decades. This debate has led to numerous reports from individual institutions, councils, and advisory committees that all have remarkable consistency in the development of gestational age-based guidelines. This article reviews legal or regulatory concerns that may contradict ethical discussion and guidelines, discriminatory and scientific basis concerns with consensus guidelines, and personal controversy about how to determine best interest. Guidelines are a reasonable place to start in helping determine parental authority and autonomy. The article also addresses controversies raised in counseling and costs.
authors.affiliation: Medical College of Wisconsin, 999 North 92nd Street, Suite C410, Wauwatosa, WI 53226, USA. Electronic address: sleuthne@mcw.edu.
authors.forename: Steven R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Leuthner
mesh_terms: D003657:Decision Making; D005328:Fetal Viability; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D062071:Infant, Extremely Premature; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015931:Intensive Care, Neonatal / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D010290:Parents; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic
keywords: Decision-making; Ethics; Extreme prematurity; Periviable; Viability