The messenger case.

Increasingly, parents are asking for the right to make resuscitation and treatment decisions for their newborn infants at high risk for mortality and morbidity. Failure of neonatologists to honor such parental wishes has led to criticism in the media and public disenchantment with neonatology. These issues were dramatized in a recent trial in which a father was charged with manslaughter after he removed his extremely premature son from life support to stop treatment administered against the family's wishes. Guidelines giving parents greater latitude in treatment decisions would help avoid similar tragic situations and would help restore public confidence in neonatology.