A first-year resident in obstetrics and gynecology is faced with legal and ethical issues when a patient who has been pregnant for 40 weeks requests induction of labor.
The case of Nancy Cruzan, a 25-year-old woman whose injuries from an automobile accident resulted in a persistent vegetative state, helped to empower people with end-of-life choices.
Physicians should approach potentially difficult patients in the emergency department with calm reassurances, in the presence of aides or security to assist the physician, and determine whether emergency or urgent medical care is needed.