Doe Laws In January 1984, the government issued Baby Doe regulations whereby if parents refused treatment for their infants with congenital defects, Infant Care Review Committees were required to advise the hospital to alert the courts or a child protective agency. In 1986, those regulations were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Bowen v. American Hospital Association (AHA), et al., on the grounds that the autonomy of the states had been violated and that the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 did not apply to the medical care of disabled infants. However, on October 9, 1984, the final Baby Doe law, known as the Baby Doe Amendment, amended the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974 to include the withholding of fluids, food, and medically indicated treatment from disabled newborns. This law went into effect on June 1, 1985, and is still in effect. Actual text of the current Baby Doe Law The following text is found under the eligibility requirements for federal funding in U.S.C.A. TITLE 42, CHAPTER 67, Sec. 5106a. Grants to States for child abuse and neglect prevention and treatment programs: (B) an assurance that the State has in place procedures for responding to the reporting of medical neglect (including instances of withholding of medically indicated treatment from disabled infants with life-threatening conditions), procedures or programs, or both (within the State child protective services system), to provide for-- (i) coordination and consultation with individuals designated by and within appropriate health-care facilities; (ii) prompt notification by individuals designated by and within appropriate health-care facilities of cases of suspected medical neglect (including instances of withholding of medically indicated treatment from disabled infants with life-threatening conditions); and (iii) authority, under State law, for the State child protective services system to pursue any legal remedies, including the authority to initiate legal proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction, as may be necessary to prevent the withholding of medically indicated treatment from disabled infants with life threatening conditions; See also Born-Alive Infants Protection Act Meltdown (album) Christian artist Steve Taylor wrote a song entitled "Baby Doe" in 1984 in response to the Baby Doe incidents. Baby K References External links The End at the Beginning "'Baby Jane Doe' at 30: Happy, joking, learning" – 2013 news article about 'Baby Jane Doe' on her 30th birthday 1984 in law 98th United States Congress United States federal child welfare legislation Medical