Refusing Treatment, Refusing to Talk, and Refusing to Let Go: On Whose Terms Will Death Occur?

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Abstract
The wish of many to die with dignity in the face of medical technology, which holds out the hope of continued life but can dehumanize those whom it sustains, is played out countless times in hospitals and nursing homes every day. Each day, hundreds, if not thousands, of decisions must be made about administering or withholding life-sustaining treatment for critically ill patients. Occasionally it spills over into the courtroom and the press, creating the impression that there is a large volume of such litigation. In fact, the number of litigated cases is relatively small–approximately 50 reported cases since the Quinlan case in 1975, and possibly a few times that number in unreported cases.Betty's case did not wind up in the courts, though it is the kind that could have, given the combination of her physicians not talking to Betty and her family, not listening to them, and not hearing them, and their apparent unwillingness to let Betty die peacefully without aggressive treatment.

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