In an era where medicine can keep one’s body physically functioning while there may be no cognitive awareness, feeling or outward interactions: How much care ‘ought’ we provide?

You read several articles this week that addresses what care at near the end of life “ought” to include and/or exclude. There are differences in how people would like to be cared for when they are near the end of life. “Letting Go”, “Approaches to end-of-life decision in the NICU and “Dying: Go Gentle” all address the role of medical care for people that are near the end of life. Leaders in medicine need to be aware and responsive to the special needs of people near the end of life and their families, Some topics to consider in your comments on the Forum may include:

In an era where medicine can keep one’s body physically functioning while there may be no cognitive awareness, feeling or outward interactions: How much care ‘ought’ we provide?; Who ‘ought’ to have the ability and ‘power’ to decide when curative medical treatments are to be stopped?; When does ‘futility’ of the treatment options morally require the medical practitioner to stop treatments that could be said to be doing ‘more harm than good’? Connect your comments to an application of the weekly principle which is ” Justice”