Oral feeding for 'comfort' during the palliation of the infant with severe neurological impairment after the withdrawal of medically provided nutrition and hydration: An ethical analysis.

摘要

Deciding that palliative care is in the best interests of a severely neurologically impaired infant is a very difficult and emotional decision for families and the medical team. It's generally accepted that there are circumstances where it is ethically and morally permissible to withdraw medically provided nutrition and hydration. While the logic and rationale surrounding this decision may be clear, the emotional reality of not feeding an infant can be very difficult.;This thesis uses a vignette to begin exploring the moral, ethical and legal issues around providing oral feeding for "comfort" after the withdrawal of medically provided nutrition and hydration. A palliative care model is chosen to explore the issues. I've argued that the palliative care model adds a secondary duty to care for the family and that decisions made during this time have the potential to cause lasting trauma to the family if they are not carefully considered.