Matters of Life and Death - Couverture souple

Orentlicher, David

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0691089477 ISBN 13 : 9780691089478

Editeur : Princeton University Press, 2001

Synopsis

Philosophical debates over the fundamental principles that should guide life-and-death medical decisions usually occur at a considerable remove from the tough, real-world choices made in hospital rooms, courthouses, and legislatures. David Orentlicher seeks to change that, drawing on his extensive experience in both medicine and law to address the translation of moral principle into practice-a move that itself generates important moral concerns. Orentlicher uses controversial life-and-death issues as case studies for evaluating three models for translating principle into practice. Physician-assisted suicide illustrates the application of "generally valid rules" a model that provides predictability and simplicity and, more importantly, avoids the personal biases that influence case-by-case judgments. The author then takes up the debate over forcing pregnant women to accept treatments to save their fetuses. He uses this issue to weigh the "avoidance of perverse incentives" an approach to translation that follows principles hesitantly for fear of generating unintended results. And third, Orentlicher considers the denial of life-sustaining treatment on grounds of medical futility in his evaluation of the "tragic choices" model, which hides difficult life-and-death choices in order to prevent paralyzing social conflict. Matters of Life and Death is a rich and stimulating contribution to bioethics and law. It is the first book to examine closely the broad problems of translating principle into practice. And by analyzing specific controversies along the way, it develops original insights likely to provoke both moral philosophers and those working on thorny issues of life and death.

A propos du livre

À propos de l?auteur

David Orentlicher, MD, JD, is Samuel R. Rosen Professor of Law and Codirector of the Center for Law and Health at Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis. He is a member of the adjunct faculty at Indiana University School of Medicine, a coauthor of Health Care Law and Ethics, and coeditor of Health Care Crisis? The Search for Answers.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Princeton University Press
• Date d'édition: 2001
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0691089477
• ISBN 13: 9780691089478
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 248
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible