Has the Emphasis on Autonomy Gone Too Far? Insights from Dostoevsky on Parental Decisionmaking in the NICU

Cambridge Quarterly, Vol. 15, pp. 147-151, 2006

Minnesota Legal Studies Research Paper No. 10-44

6 Pages Posted: 2 Sep 2010

See all articles by John J. Paris

John J. Paris

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Neil Graham

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Michael D. Schrieber

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Michele Goodwin

Georgetown University Law Center; University of California, Irvine School of Law

Date Written: August 31, 2010

Abstract

Treatment of extremely premature infants in a high-technology neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) frequently takes on a life of its own. Although bioethicists and courts agree that there is no ethical or legal difference between withholding or withdrawing a respirator from a patient, parents and physicians find the withdrawal much more emotionally troubling. It is apparent in medical narratives that people are not eager to take responsibility for tragic decisions. The authors believe that a similar pattern is prevalent in many end-of-life medical decisions, particularly those made in the NICU. Family members may want the treatment to be withdrawn, but no one wants to be the one to give the directive to do so. As evidence, the authors cite the experience of a neonatal intensive care doctor as he describes the process of decision-making in the NICU.

The authors suggest that when, despite our best efforts, medical interventions on the extremely premature infant do not succeed in reversing disease processes, we need not compound the grief of parents by asking their permission to withdraw the failed therapies. It is enough for the parents to agree that in light of their baby’s condition, the focus should be on keeping the child’s final moments as comfortable as possible. Then the most the physician can do is to support the parents as they keep company with their baby in the last stages of its brief

Keywords: law, society, economics, medicine, health care

Suggested Citation

Paris, John J. and Graham, Neil and Schrieber, Michael D. and Goodwin, Michele, Has the Emphasis on Autonomy Gone Too Far? Insights from Dostoevsky on Parental Decisionmaking in the NICU (August 31, 2010). Cambridge Quarterly, Vol. 15, pp. 147-151, 2006, Minnesota Legal Studies Research Paper No. 10-44, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1669649

John J. Paris

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Neil Graham

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

Michael D. Schrieber

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

Michele Goodwin (Contact Author)

Georgetown University Law Center ( email )

University of California, Irvine School of Law ( email )

401 E. Peltason Dr.
Ste. 1000
Irvine, CA 92697-1000
United States

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