The Dilemma - 23 Week Babies: The Price of Life - Preview - BBC Two

More about this programme:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zf9vg

Babies born four months early, in the 23rd week of pregnancy, exist on the edge of life. Is it always right to keep them alive?

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• '23
• Week
• Babies'
• 'The
• Price
• of
• Life'
• babies
• '23rd
• week
• pregnancy'
• 'the
• dilemma'
• bbc
• two
• BBC
• Two
• bbctwo

[itwaslogan]

i say "life" is when something can think for itself and realize that it is alive. otherwise, they would never know the difference if their heart stopped beating or not, and sometimes, death is for the better. i probably WOULD kill myself if i became a paraplegic tomorrow. i can't imagine living like that. spending tons of $ on people who become disabled later in life is fine, but why would you want to keep someone alive just for them to live a horrible life like the girl in the vid described?

[resalmeron]

wow, i agree with that doctor. just because a baby was early and might have disabilities is not reason to abort or let it die.

i feel sorry for that girl not cause of the situation she is in (which i understand must be hard) but because of her poor outlook on life. she should see that it is a miracle that she is alive.

[shannonk1994]

I was 24 weeks and i consider myself 100% healthy. I have very mild asthma but other than that I am totally healthy. This decision is such a hard one to make. I think that they should try as hard as they can to save premature babies but I don't know I just got lucky. I feel if I had a life like this it would be really hard on me.

[VioletteRose]

@resalmeron

I was even earlier than her and I feel guilty that she ended up the 9% and I ended up the 1%. I think the doc said she was 25 weeks. I was almost 21 weeks (20 weeks 4 or 5 days). Like the little girl (in the doc) who ended up the 1%, she too had problems due to the treatments.

No mirco-preemie is 100%, we all get side-effects from the treatments. Personally, Issac Newton was miracle. Science wasnt used for him and he was so early his mom could fit him into a quart mug.

[VioletteRose]

I was born at 21 wks. I got lucky and ended up one of the 1%.

But, I think money should be going into preventing preterm births. Had the hospital in the city I live in correctly got my gastation, I would've been left to die. But since I was showing signs of life, I was sent off to BC Childrens Hospital, where they learned I wasnt 23 wks but actually almost 21.

Even being the 1%, I still have problems due the medical treatments i received the first 6 yrs of my life. No preterm baby is 100% okay.

[thatsshocking]

Perhaps they should have mentioned that the vast majority of disabled people don't want to die and have full and happy lives. Would anyone think a premature or full term baby for that matter should be killed because they had a family history of debilitating illness, or depression, or any other reason people want to take their own lives? The possibility of disability is there in every pregnancy, is someone going to decide the % cut off point of which babies should be mercifully murdered?

[mimi16011981]

@RAGINGREDBULL7 tottaly agree with wat you say

[RAGINGREDBULL7]

@donahkebabnah I couldnt have said it better ,thank you

[RAGINGREDBULL7]

@liang8231 money comes from everyone just the same as if this was your baby it comes from me too ,so what is the point ,if the baby is born alive its alive human it has rights ,think about it if this was you the parent ,which normal parent will just sit and watch their child die when clearly there is a chance of life even if its 1 %

[donahkebabnah]

@liang8231 * a life is a life, you have a life you can just look at it as if it shouldnt be here because its undeveloped. If you belive in jesus you are a sinner as jesus wouldnt just stand there and watch it die,

i garantee you if your child were premeture i bet you wouldnt want him to die as it is a part of history toward your family