Having spent time in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, I can say from experience that I can't imagine healthcare people willingly pulling the plug on a baby because of ability to pay. They don't take the death of a child lightly or expediently--not at all. This said, there is limited space in these facilities, and it must seem like a profligate waste of resources to have the parent of a brain-dead baby sucking up the time and money and space resources that could be used to save another baby.

We have made a point over the years to attend the annual NICU reunion at the children's hospital here in town, because as I remind my son who spent two weeks there, it isn't really for him as much as it is to reinforce a feeling of success for those doctors and nurses. They need to see their former patients grow and thrive, because a lot of those little ones don't make it.

SRS