Abstract

Every so often, a bioethics controversy emerges that galvanizes our views. The Surfactant, Positive Pressure, and Oxygenation Randomized Trial mushroomed into a controversy of this sort this past year. In 2007, the “Ashley case,” involving the use of estrogen to attenuate the growth of a girl with profound disabilities, was similarly controversial. Some of the lessons from that debate, in which I was centrally involved, may help advance the discussion about SUPPORT.