Medical Ethics - End of Life Issues
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This is another important and large area of ethics.
Decisions about medical treatment that have consequences for the timing and nature of a person’s death engender strong emotions in both health professionals and the public and raise difficult ethical issues for all concerned.
They can often be a source of conflict between health professionals and patients' families, or between health professionals in a health care team.
Ethical dilemmas arise when there is a perceived conflicting duty to the patient, such as a conflict between a duty to preserve life and a duty to act in a patient’s best interests, or when an ethical principle such as respect for autonomy conflicts with a duty not to harm.
Issues inc
lude:- Sanctity of Life doctrine
- The distinction between acts and omissions
- Doctrine of double effect
- DNAR orders
- Advance directives
- Decisions to withhold and withdraw life-prolonging treatment
Again, rather than writing a series of web pages on this, I'll point you in the direction of an excellent webpage that covers the topic comprehensively and gives examples:
http://www.ethics-network.org.uk/Ethics/eendlife.htm
Next page: Relationships with patients
Back to: Ethics study guide index page
Written by: Michael Harris
Last updated: 16 September 2006