Dr. Fredric Neuman’s harrowing Psychology Today article, “The Cyclops Child,” is one of the more bruising things I’ve read in a long time. It’s the psychiatrist’s recollection of being witness to horribly, hopelessly deformed newborns when he was an intern 50 years ago. The doctors would tell the parents that the child was born dead, and the infant would surreptitiously be given minimal care until it passed away. It was done to spare the feelings of the parents, but it’s obvious they should have been told and involved in the decision. Regardless, it’s a heartrending story. The opening paragraph:

“Probably every physician can think of one patient who affected him more than any other. The patient who has haunted me through the years was a child that I saw for only a little time at the very beginning of my career. I was an intern at a Catholic institution. I mention that because it seems to me relevant to the ethical considerations that swirled about the care of this infant. When this child was born, the obstetrician, looking at it was horrified. It was a ‘monster.’ That was the medical term used to describe a grossly misshapen baby. The doctor was concerned, then, first of all, about the effect on its mother of seeing the child. Therefore, he told the parents that it was born dead; and that the body had been disposed of.  But the child was alive. This particular ‘monster’ had deformities that were not consistent with it living for any length of time. The obstetrician must have recognized that immediately and chose to spare the parents the special anguish of looking at and knowing about this abnormal birth. But did he have the right to tell them a lie about such a critical matter? I’m not sure that there is a law to deal with such a strange situation, but I am sure the obstetrician violated medical canons. He short-circuited the parents’ wishes and concerns. Plainly, they had the right to know the truth. If a medical malpractice action had been instituted, the doctor would have been liable. By telling this lie, he was risking his career. The other people in the delivery suite were also complicit and also liable. As far as I was concerned, however, he had done the right thing.” (Thanks Browser.)