Catholics and Jews Agree on Newborn Aid

The U.S. Roman Catholic bishops’ Pro-Life Committee and the American Jewish Congress have reached a consensus on the difficult issue of treating handicapped newborns, agreeing that withholding potentially helpful treatment is not justified.

The accord announced this week was said to be the first Catholic-Jewish statement on the subject. Federal efforts to set hospital rules on the care of handicapped infants have been struck down by lower courts, but an appeal is being readied.

After discussions growing out of the “Baby Doe” and “Baby Jane Doe” controversies, the interfaith consultation said in part: “Handicaps, in and of themselves, do not justify withholding medical treatment when such treatment offers reasonable hope of benefit and does not impose excessive pain or other burdens on the patient.”

But the accord said “medical intervention is not required” when it would be “clearly futile and would do no more than briefly prolong the act of dying.”