Should doctors let a sick baby die?

The right of parents to decide the medical fate of their children got a boost this week when the parents of two-year-old Charlotte Wyatt had a ruling overturned that had permitted doctors to refuse to keep her alive if her tenuous hold on life weakened. Her parents have been fighting the ruling for a year, insisting that their daughter, born three months premature, deserved a fighting chance. Since she has not taken that turn for the worse, and indeed seems to be making progress, the judge allowed as how it would be okay for doctors to save her life if they thought it was a good idea, although they could refrain if it went "against their conscience." For more on doctors and parents and life-and-death decisions, see "Who Decides There's No Hope?"