ABSTRACT
Case One. The parents of a newborn observe that their daughter’s pupils are different sizes. A pediatric opthamologist diagnoses her condition as Horner’s syndrome. Although the syndrome has no effects of its own, it may be symptomatic of a brain stem tumor, lung cancer, or a traumatic head injury. The physician recommends a CAT scan to explore these possibilities. The parents carefully investigate the desirability of this test. In the process, they learn that they must
with-hold food from their child for 9 hours and take a small risk that complications from anesthetizing her will result in death. They also learn that there is little chance that the problems a CAT scan might reveal will be treatable. Ultimately, they decide to refuse the test and the opportunity to fully understand the cause of their child’s condition.
