Withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment in a patient's best interests: Australian judicial deliberations

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dc.contributor.authorWillmott, L.
dc.contributor.authorWhite, B.
dc.contributor.authorSmith, M.
dc.contributor.authorWilkinson, D.
dc.date.issued2014
dc.description.abstractIntractable disputes about withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment from adults who lack capacity are rare but challenging. Judicial resolution may be needed in some of these cases. A central concept for judicial (and clinical) decision making in this area is a patient's "best interests". Yet what this term means is contested. There is an emerging Supreme Court jurisprudence that sheds light on when life-sustaining treatment will, or will not, be judged to be in a patient's best interests. Treatment that is either futile or overly burdensome is not in a patient's best interests. Although courts will consider patient and family wishes, they have generally deferred to the views of medical practitioners about treatment decisions.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityLindy Willmott, Ben White, Malcolm K Smith, Dominic J C Wilkinson
dc.identifier.citationMedical Journal of Australia, 2014; 201(9):545-547
dc.identifier.doi10.5694/mja13.10874
dc.identifier.issn1326-5377
dc.identifier.issn0025-729X
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/89121
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherMJA Group Australia
dc.rightsCopyright status unknown
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.5694/mja13.10874
dc.subjectHumans
dc.subjectMedical Futility
dc.subjectLife Support Care
dc.subjectTerminal Care
dc.subjectWithholding Treatment
dc.subjectMental Competency
dc.subjectDecision Making
dc.subjectQuality of Life
dc.subjectAdvance Directives
dc.subjectProxy
dc.subjectAustralia
dc.titleWithholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment in a patient's best interests: Australian judicial deliberations
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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