PHIL 242 Final: Dax Cowart and Robert Burt – Confronting Death Whose Chooses, Who Controls
Document Summary
Dax cowart and robert burt confronting death: whose. Pain (he says an hour was an eternity); estimated qol for future. Cruzan case in which s. c. confirms right to refuse even life saving treatment. Given that both parties are fallible, we tend to believe the patient should decide (whose life is it, anyway?). Can"t simply say to doctor it"s none of your business because it is. Not just as a doctor, but as another human. Note dax says roughly if i could be rehabilitated to where i could do things normally walk, etc. Then i might have a different view about it. so did he really understand what his possible future was: doctors have a responsibility to make sure the information they provide is comprehended. The doctor must make sure the patient understands the information and doesn"t just parrot it back: so dr. burt"s point is that at the end of the day it is dax"s decision.
