Ethical Aspects of Withdrawing or Withholding Treatment – MM1308
Should health care practitioners (HCPs) preserve all lives, at all cost and for as long as possible? This view is attractive to many theologians and arm-chair philosophers who proclaim the sanctity of life. There is comfort and security for HCPs holding this view as it removes the responsibility for making some very difficult decisions and leaves all in the hands of a “Higher Being”. There is no need to consider others in the decision, costs or the quality of life under review.
Most bioethicists reject this absolutist premise. The duty of care is not an absolute duty to preserve life by all means. There is no obligation to provide life sustaining treatment if:
a) Its use is inconsistent with the aims and objectives of an appropriate treatment plan,
and
b) The benefits of that treatment no longer outweigh the burdens to the patient.
Modern Medicine – August 2013
