Hilde Lindemann Nelson

Technological advances have allowed doctors to keep a pregnant, brain-dead woman alive long enough to safely carry her baby to term. These pregnancies are called postmortem pregnancies. Arguments advocating such practices are invalid, contends Hilde Lindemann Nelson in the following viewpoint. She asserts that sustaining the pregnancy does not always benefit the fetus and oftentimes imposes a substantial burden on the mother. Furthermore, Nelson argues, neither the law nor morality compel physicians to sustain a postmortem pregnancy. Nelson is a research associate and former associate editor of the Hastings Center Report, a bimonthly journal on ethical issues in medicine, the life sciences, and the professions.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What are the three reasons cited by the author that might oblige a physician to attempt to sustain a postmortem pregnancy?
2. Why should a physician not...