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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!alice!ark
From: ark@alice.UUCP (Andrew Koenig)
Newsgroups: net.abortion
Subject: Re: Dividing Line Found
Message-ID: <3573@alice.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 15-Apr-85 13:17:40 EST
Article-I.D.: alice.3573
Posted: Mon Apr 15 13:17:40 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 16-Apr-85 01:11:58 EST
References: <1015@phs.UUCP>
Organization: Bell Labs, Murray Hill
Lines: 29

Paul Dolber reported a recent case in which the neonatal unit
of the Medical Center of Central Georga refused to accept
a premature baby born elsewhere because they have a policy against
admitting babies weighing less than 500 grams at birth.

After quoting various parts of a newspaper article, he steps
back in apparent horror to let the story "speak for itself."

Paul left out a few parts of the story, though:

	o The part where the same doctor says that he's seen
	  more than 3,000 cases of babies with birth weights
	  less than 500 grams and not a single one has ever
	  survived.

	o The part where the doctor says that the hospital
	  has publicized its admission policy because it needed
	  to do something to stop other hospitals from chartering
	  helicopters at exorbitant cost to fly hopelessly
	  premature babies in that had no chance of survival.

	o The fact that normal birth weights are about
	  3 kilograms.

I think there's more to this story than meets the eye.  If the
sending hospital couldn't estimate the weight accurately, why not
guess it at 550 grams?  Could it be that they were trying to
put some kind of political pressure on the neonatal unit to
change its policy?