1 Division of Pediatric Neurology, Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60616
To the Editor.
The commentary by Singer on "Sanctity of Life or Quality of Life" (Pediatrics 1983;72:128-129) states that "Only the fact that the defective infant is a member of the species Homo sapiens leads it to be treated differently from the dog or pig. Species membership alone, however, is not morally relevant." It is unfortunate that Singer has not quoted Sir Charles Sherrington, who took time from his neurophysiological writings to speculate on the ethics of survival of normal and abnormal humans with respect to the remainder of the animal kingdom.1