The concept of futile medical care has been in existence for ages, but still attracts lots of controversy. It is defined as the provision of medical treatment when there is no reasonable hope of improving or curing the patient’s condition. Proponents argue for discontinuation of any treatment that hasn’t been shown to provide any measurable benefits. Stopping futile care isn’t equivalent to active intervention to end life, as withholding care doesn’t hasten the natural progression to death. By its provocative connotations, futile medical care has differing interpretations within different contexts.

Home births were the norm in aeons gone by. But by the turn of the 1900s, hospital births started becoming more common. It is estimated that nowadays, home births account for only one percent of all deliveries. However some developed countries have well-organized programs that support home births, recording slightly higher regional statistics.

Advanced fertility treatment is commonly referred to as test-tube babies. The scientific terminology is In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF). In simplified terms it means fertilization takes place outside the body, in highly regulated and specialized labs. Once the eggs are fertilized, they become embryos, and are then allowed to grow in the lab for a few days before being placed into the woman’s womb (uterus).