Legal myths about terminating life support

A. Meisel
Center for Medical Ethics, University of Pittsburgh, PA.

There are a number of myths about what the law permits concerning the termination of life support, some of which spring from a fundamental misconception of what law is. A serious misunderstanding of the law can lead to tragic results for physicians, health care institutions, patients, and families. These misunderstandings are (1) anything that is not specifically permitted by law is prohibited; (2) termination of life support is murder or suicide; (3) a patient must be terminally ill for life support to be stopped; (4) it is permissible to terminate extraordinary treatments, but not ordinary ones; (5) it is permissible to withhold treatment, but once started, it must be continued; (6) stopping tube feeding is legally different from stopping other treatments; (7) termination of life support requires going to court; and (8) living wills are not legal.

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Allowing Patients to Die: Practical, Ethical, and Religious Concerns
Kahn et al.
JCO 2003;21:3000-3002.
FULL TEXT  

'End-of-life' decision making within intensive care - objective, consistent, defensible?
Ravenscroft and Bell
J. Med. Ethics 2000;26:435-440.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Seven Legal Barriers to End-of-Life Care: Myths, Realities, and Grains of Truth
Meisel et al.
JAMA 2000;284:2495-2501.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Palliative Treatments of Last Resort: Choosing the Least Harmful Alternative
Quill et al.
ANN INTERN MED 2000;132:488-493.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

A New Doctor in the House: Ethical Issues in Hospitalist Systems
Pantilat et al.
JAMA 1999;282:171-174.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Prosecutors and End-of-Life Decision Making
Meisel et al.
Arch Intern Med 1999;159:1089-1095.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Continuing Problems with Patient Self-Determination
White et al.
American Journal of Medical Quality 1993;8:187-193.
ABSTRACT