Thinking About Life-Sustaining Treatment Late in the Life of a Demented Person

Authors

• Thomas Finucane, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Publication Date

2001

Abstract

This paper will consider a specific clinical situation: an elderly patient with dementia who becomes seriously ill, where treatment would likely be burdensome but might prolong life. Generic questions are described and the lawyerly Standard Paradigm is developed. Questions are raised about every step of the Standard Paradigm. Finally, there is a discussion of two treatment decisions that are commonly faced late in the course of advanced dementia: tube feeding and attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Recommended Citation

Finucane, Thomas (2001) "Thinking About Life-Sustaining Treatment Late in the Life of a Demented Person," Georgia Law Review: Vol. 35: No. 2, Article 12.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/glr/vol35/iss2/12