ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the challenges of making decisions to withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatments from young children. Recent court cases in England and Wales, and the international debates these cases have ignited, highlight the challenges of determining that life-sustaining treatment is no longer in a child’s best interests. These debates reflect broader disagreement about determining what is in a person’s interests, as well as about the roles of parents, doctors, and the state in making decisions on behalf of a young child. The complexity of these disagreements has resulted in questions about the adequacy of the best interests principle in guiding these difficult decisions.
