In the last twenty years developments in medicine have reduced the age at which a newborn baby can survive from 28 weeks to just 23. With a major report due out later this week, we look at how decisions are made at the moment, about the viability of premature babies.
Should we be concerned about the moral, social and economic implications of prolonging the life of those who may have few long term prospects? Is there anything that we can learn from those countries where clinicians routinely take some decisions out of the hands of parents? And does the age at which a newborn child can be considered viable change the terms of the abortion debate?
Jenni talks to Pieter Sauer, professor of paediatrics at the University Medical Centre Groningen in the Netherlands, to Dr Jane Hawdon, a consultant neonatologist at University College London Hospitals and to John Harris, Sir David Alliance Professor of Bioethics at the University of Manchester.
