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Neurologic Syndromes and Prolonged Survival: When Can Artificial Nutrition and Hydration Be Forgone?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2021

Ronald E. Cranford
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Extract

A recurring lesson in the debate about forgoing life-sustaining treatment for patients with neurologic syndromes is the need to understand the medical realities in such cases. Those of us in the neurological sciences spend a great deal of time working with these cases on a daily basis—trying to define the medical facts and educate ourselves, the public, and the courts. This article will discuss the medical and neurological facts regarding patients with severe and permanent neurological impairment, focusing only on one form of medical treatment: artificially administered nutrition and hydration. The concern of this paper is not the patient's wishes, the family's wishes, or the decision-making role of other key players, but the medical conditions in which it is ethically appropriate to withdraw or withhold artificial fluids and nutrition.

Type
Article
Information
Law, Medicine and Healthcare , Volume 19 , Issue 1-2 , Spring Summer 1991 , pp. 13 - 22
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 1991

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