Kenny and Claire Sparks are a working-class couple living in Dayton, Texas. The Sparks have been trying to have a child for seven years, when they finally conceive, Claire automatically knows she is having a boy and names him Landon. On October 23rd 1988 when Claire was just six months pregnant when she started bleeding causing Landon to be born ten weeks early and weigh only 3lbs 5oz. Kenny visits Landon before he is airlifted to Hermann hospital when he notices a mass on his spine and know his son will not survive. Kenny is told about the life Landon will have if he survived the 2 pronged surgeries which given the severity of the lesion would be lifeless and bedridden anyway. After agreeing to the surgery, Kenny is informed he has a choice: surgery or “let nature take its course.” Unfortunately, Landon is born with one of the most severe cases of Spina Bifida Hermann Hospital has seen and not all doctors agree to the choice Kenny has made for his son. The Sparks now must explain to the ethics committee why it would be more humane to let Landon die, then to watch him possibility live and suffer.” This is going to sound terrible for a mother to say, but I want him to die.” “If he lives that the way it should be, but …show more content…
The standard of medical care in the United States has been compromised, since physicians ' beliefs interfere with treatment that is in the best interest of the patient.
The fourth case is the most difficult and controversial for the Ethics Committee to make a decision regarding a full-term baby with severe Spina bifida. In this case, the parents may have been given too much information, and a choice too early as to the ultimate fate of their child. Spina bifida, being a non-terminal disability, would impair the child’s quality of living to a high degree due to the severity. The question for this family is: Would their son, Landon Sparks, have a life worth