In less severe cases with immature fetuses, the situation may be monitored in hospital, with treatment if necessary.

Betamethasone and dexamethasone cause an immature fetus's lungs to produce a compound called surfactant.

As Mr. Dworkin sees it, arguments against abortion that derive from a theory of rights and interests are weak because "an immature fetus . . . cannot have an interest in surviving."

His interest grew out of his clinical experience with premature infants, and as he writes in a recent abstract, "It goes without saying that the ideal situation for the immature fetus is growth within the normal environment of the maternal organism."