Are withholding and withdrawing therapy always morally equivalent? A reply to Sulmasy and Sugarman.
نویسنده
چکیده
This paper argues that Sulmasy and Sugarman have not succeeded in showing a moral difference between withholding and withdrawing treatment. In particular, they have misunderstood historical entitlement theory, which does not automatically prefer a first occupant by just acquisition.
منابع مشابه
Are withholding and withdrawing therapy always morally equivalent?
Many medical ethicists accept the thesis that there is no moral difference between withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining therapy. In this paper, we offer an interesting counterexample which shows that this thesis is not always true. Withholding is distinguished from withdrawing by the simple fact that therapy must have already been initiated in order to speak coherently about withdrawal. ...
متن کاملWithdrawing may be preferable to withholding
The majority of deaths on the intensive care unit now occur following a decision to limit life-sustaining therapy, and end-of-life decision making is an accepted and important part of modern intensive care medical practice. Such decisions can essentially take one of two forms: withdrawing -- the removal of a therapy that has been started in an attempt to sustain life but is not, or is no longer...
متن کاملWithholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment in children.
Modern medicine gives us the ability to prolong life even in situations where it may not be right to do so. This article discusses some of the complex ethical and legal issues surrounding withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment in children, including the concepts of futility, best interests and intolerability. We advocate the use of a structured framework to help guide decision-ma...
متن کاملEnd-of-life after birth: death and dying in a neonatal intensive care unit.
OBJECTIVE In canonical modern bioethics, withholding and withdrawing medical interventions for dying patients are considered morally equivalent. However, electing not to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) struck us as easily distinguishable from withdrawing mechanical ventilation. Moreover, withdrawing mechanical ventilation from a moribund infant "feels" different from withdrawing ...
متن کاملUnderstanding the key areas of clinical decision making at the end of life.
The ability of medical science to prolong biological life through the use of technology raises the question of how far physicians should go in treating the terminally ill patient. In clinical decision making involving the dying patient, physicians, patients and families bring various perceptions and interpretations to the situation. These different realities must be negotiated in order to defin...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید
ثبت ناماگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید
ورودعنوان ژورنال:
- Journal of medical ethics
دوره 20 4 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 1994