Issues in Law & Medicine articles from December 1990

Issues in Law & Medicine archives from December 1990

Euthanasia in the Netherlands.
December 22, 1990... In 1973 a lady doctor who had killed her sick mother was sentenced by the court in Leeuwaarden to a one-week suspended prison sentence. The judge declared that the court never doubted the defendant's integrity. The trial initiated the present...

The nurse's role in treatment decisionmaking for the child with disabilities.
December 22, 1990... As with any profession, nurses have ethical dilemmas in many areas of practice. Some of these are major, and some, perhaps more frequently encountered, are rapidly dealt with and not considered again. Concerning children with disabilities,...

The U.S. Civil Rights Commission report, "Medical Discrimination Against Children with Disabilities": a brief commentary.
December 22, 1990... For many years there has been a national debate over the moral and legal obligations owed to infants born with physical or mental disabilities. The crucial issue is, to what extent, if any, should parents or medical authorities be permitted to...

Medical discrimination against children with disabilities: a report of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
December 22, 1990... In September of 1989, following a four year study, at a cost of one-half million dollars, the United States Commission on Civil Rights issued the final draft of its report entitled "Medical Discrimination Against Children with Disabilities."(1)...

In re A.C. (Substituted judgment for incompetent pregnant patient)
December 22, 1990... HELD: If a pregnant patient is incompetent or otherwise unable to give an informed consent to medical treatment, then her decision must be ascertained through substituted judgment. The patient's wishes, once they are ascertained,...

Fosmire v. Nicoleau. (refusal of medical treatment by pregnant Jehovah's Witness) (New York)
December 22, 1990... HELD: A competent and otherwise healthy adult patient may decline lifesaving blood transfusions when the state has failed to show superior and express interests in favor of preserving the patient's life and/or benefiting her child....

U.S. v. Charters. (antipsychotic drugs may be given over an inmate's objection)
December 22, 1990... HELD: Antipsychotic drugs may be given over an inmate's objections provided all due process requirements are met. Michael Charters was indicted in November 1983 for threatening the President of the United States, in violation of 18...

In re Guardianship of Browning. (whether or not a guardian can terminate life support systems) (Florida)
December 22, 1990... HELD: A guardian of a patient who is incompetent but not in a permanent vegetative state, and who suffers from an incurable but not necessarily terminal condition, cannot terminate life-sustaining treatment and feeding by tube. ...

Doe v. Wilson. (right to die for ALS patient) (Tennessee)
December 22, 1990... HELD: A fully competent adult patient in the latter stages of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may successfully seek a declaratory judgment permitting her physician to disconnect life support without incurring criminal or civil...

Dax's Case: Essays in Medical Ethics and Human Meaning.
December 22, 1990... In the summer of 1973, Donald "Dax" Cowart was critically injured in a propane gas explosion that took his father's life and severely burned more than 65% of Dax's body. For more than a year, Dax underwent repeated surgical procedures and daily...

Consent to Treatment: a Practical Guide, 2d ed.
December 22, 1990... The doctrine of informed consent has developed in the United States from a simple concept to an extremely complex body of law. It has become an area to be feared by every practicing physician and every medical research investigator. In this...

Terminal Choices: Euthanasia, Suicide, and the Right to Die.
December 22, 1990... This book deals with the basic issues that surround the euthanasia debate. Whether we are reflecting on the possibility of mercy killing as a legal, moral, and personal option, the use of painkilling drugs that incidentally accelerate dying, or...

Death Without Dignity: Euthanasia in Perspective.
December 22, 1990... The greater part of the papers presented in this book originated at a conference cosponsored by the Christian Medical Fellowship, CARE, the Order of Christian Unity, and Rutherford House at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in...

Hard Decisions: Foregoing and Withdrawing Artificial Nutrition and Hydration.
December 22, 1990... This book approaches the issue of artificial nutrition and hydration from four perspectives. The first entails reviewing the medical state of the art with the intention of becoming conversant with the technology and its usage. The second...