Linked Life Data

15991403

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/15991403

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:dateCreated
2005-7-1
pubmed:abstractText
In Bland the House of Lords held it lawful to withdraw tube-feeding from a patient in a 'persistent vegetative state' (pvs), even with intent to kill him. The British Medical Association (BMA) recently published guidance on the withholding and withdrawal of 'medical treatment', so defined as to include food and water delivered by tube. The guidance endorses the withholding/withdrawal of tube-delivered food and water not only from patients in pvs but also from other non-terminally ill patients, such as those with severe dementia or serious stroke. The underlying justification appears (as in Bland) to be that such lives lack worth. This article offers three major criticisms of the guidance. First, its argument that tube-feeding is medical treatment rather than basic care is weak. Secondly, its reasons for not treating or tube-feeding undermine the BMA's long-standing opposition to active euthanasia and active assisted suicide. Thirdly, it relies heavily on legal precedent at the expense of ethical reasoning.
pubmed:keyword
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:citationSubset
E
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:author
pubmed:owner
KIE
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
66-84
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:articleTitle
Beyond Bland: a critique of the BMA guidance on withholding and withdrawing medical treatment.
pubmed:affiliation
University of Cambridge, UK.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article