Autonomy and ars moriendi.

摘要

"How could her family just let her die? It's not their decision to make. Amanda's an adult-she's 23 years old-and if she wants a heart transplant, she should get it. It's her choice."The meeting with Amanda and her parents in the ICU had just ended and I felt enormous sadness. Amanda and her mother had cried much of the time. Her father, visibly agitated, had stormed out halfway through the meeting. I'd sat in my office with the three of them many times before but we'd never had such a tense exchange. Lisa didn't know them the way I did. They were a fun-loving family who, until recently, had coped with Amanda's downturns reasonably well.I would have preferred some time alone to recover from the turmoil I felt, but Lisa, one of our best residents, needed to talk through what had just transpired. "I know it's not easy or straightforward, Lisa, but why do you feel so negatively toward Amanda's parents?"