To be best able to respond if third parties in assisted reproduction contracts break their terms, physicians should familiarize themselves with the contracts, encourage all parties to self-disclose, and, failing that, disclose material information to the other party.
Nonmaleficence must not be sacrificed in the name of the patient’s autonomy, but there is no need to undertake needlessly invasive treatments for a small boost in protection against cancer recurrence if the patient does not wish to do so.
Frank A. Chervenak, MD and Laurence B. McCullough, PhD
A patient’s request for a treatment does not establish that treatment as medically reasonable according to evidence-based deliberative clinical judgment.
Julian Savulescu's writing on conscientious objection is guided by an emphasis on the principle of distributive justice that does not allow religion to have a special status as justification.
When ventilator support is being withdrawn from a dying child, responsive titration of sedative medications by the ICU team can relieve suffering without anesthetizing the child completely or hastening death.
According to documented studies, patients who have good relationships with their physicians are less likely to file complaints in the event of an adverse medical outcome.
Review of a book that reflects on a doctor’s journey back to medical practice after performing a difficult delivery that may have contributed to the newborn’s cerebral palsy.
Nonlegal, judicial, and statutory courses of action are available to patient surrogates and physicians who cannot agree on withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment.