> Zim wrote- > The decision on when enough is enough when it comes to medical spending is a > huge ethical issue bound up in politics and science changing every day. (ramble warning) The range of this discussion was even broadened this week with research that doctors avoid telling ill people and their families when a case is terminal. In concept, it seems remarkably easy to see when benefits of care may be limited, but when it comes to matters of the heart and possibilities it all gets thrown to the wind in some ways. I have met families that do not want a dying person told they are dying, so why should it surprise me when doctors want to protect patients/families, or are just plain uncomfortable. Research shows that at some point the benefits of care in many areas do start to plateau, but this cannot be the purest decision making process. What would you want in a terminal situation- brute honesty? Now think about how you would feel being on the survivor side of things and see if your ideas on what should happen still agree. Would you wish for an extra day to help the family say good-bye to a loved one? For some people things are consistent, others see a big discrepancy. Add into all that how remarkable the human body can be.... people surviving for days in Hospice situations until the whole family has accepted death... and you can begin to see how complicated it all is. Just to illustrate the difficulties on a simplistic level, think about organ donation. I had a major time of just helping my parents to understand the organ donor clause on my first license, and when I was married my husband never did agree to accept my desires in that area. Dee
