Lauren Sydney Flicker, JD, MBE and Rachel Zuraw, JD, MBE
Taxing cosmetic procedures does not accord with the standard taxing principles of horizontal and vertical equity. Such a tax would be difficult to enforce and could be discriminatory.
Physicians have an ethical responsibility to caregivers whose psychological distress is caused by their experience of the patient’s illness and treatment.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(5):493-500. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.5.msoc3-1705.
Advance directives, substituted judgment, and the best-interest standard all have limitations that constrain their usefulness in making medical decisions for patients who cannot choose for themselves.