In re Baby K

Baby K was born with anencephaly, a condition causing severe breathing difficulty and eventual death, and physicians recommended only comfort care. Her mother, Ms. H, refused and insisted on aggressive treatment whenever Baby K had breathing trouble. No other facility would accept a transfer, so the hospital repeatedly stabilized Baby K's breathing crises before she was returned to a nursing home. After a second admission, the hospital sued Ms. H, the father, and Baby K's guardian for a declaratory judgment that it need not provide treatment it deemed ethically inappropriate under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). The district court denied the hospital's request, and it appealed.