In May of 2007, the Associated Press reported that a vegan couple was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of their 6-week-old son. The son's death was attributed to malnutrition. He weighed only 3.5 pounds at the time of his death. The first-time parents claimed to have fed the child a diet consisting primarily of soymilk and apple juice. Their lawyer claims that they unintentionally starved their child because the apple juice worked as a diuretic and blocked the absorption of nutrients from the soymilk. Prosecutors claimed the baby suffered a prolonged and painful death, not because of what he was fed, but because he was fed too little and that his nutritional needs were deliberately ignored by his parents. The full article can be found athttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18574603/from/ET/ (Links to an external site.)

Reflect on this case and answer the following questions.

1) What are the nutritional needs of an infant?

2) What kinds of problems, other than death, can malnutrition cause?

3) What kinds of social policies could be enacted to inform parents of their child's nutritional needs?

4) How can new mothers get help to feed their baby?

5) Do you agree or disagree with the outcome of this case?

5 a) Why or why not?