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Dying Young
Cues From the Courts
Rhonda Gay Hartman, JD, PhD
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004;158:615-619.
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In an age where longevity is coveted and celebrated, dying young seems antithetical to the extraordinary biomedical achievements that extend and enhance life. Yet, many adolescents die in hospitals from disease and accident. Despite extensive law and literature addressing end-of-life issues for adults, little information exists about particular concerns and challenges confronting dying adolescents. This information is important not only for improving quality of care but, to some extent, for providing a mirror that reflects the way we ought to treat any dying patient.
The Fourteenth Amendment liberty concept safeguards medical decision making by competent adults, including refusal of life-prolonging care.1 Although the scope of constitutionally protected decision-making autonomy by adolescents is not clear, the US Supreme Court stated that inexperience limits minors' legal autonomy for "making life's difficult decisions."2(p605) Invoking conventional notions of adolescent vulnerability and immaturity that might impair capable decision making, the . . . [Full Text of this Article] DETERMINANTS OF MINORS' DECISION-MAKING ABILITY
ADOLESCENT PATIENT PREFERENCES
THIRD-PARTY INTERVENTION
PALLIATION AND COMFORT CARE
CONCLUSION
From the School of Medicine and Center for Bioethics and Health Law, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa.
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
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Zwerdling et al.
AM J HOSP PALLIAT CARE 2006;23:224-228.
ABSTRACT
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