How should a conscientious medical professional respond to a patients or an agents refusal of ordinary/morally obligatory treatment and care?
If a patient or agent decides to refuse ordinary treatment or care in order to bring about the patients death, in some instances there may be little that a medical professional can do to prevent this. However, there remains the duty to attempt to persuade the patient/agent otherwise or, failing that, for the physician or other care provider to remove himself/herself from the case in order not to be guilty of complicity in euthanasia. “Always to care, never to kill,” has been the constant motto of medical professionals throughout the ages. Nothing and no one can make killing their patients right or a “right.” Julie Grimstad is the primary writer and editor of Euthanasia: Imposed Death. She is the executive director of Life is Worth Living, Inc., whose members are dedicated to the authentic restoration of respect for human life. Julie co-founded and served as the director of the Center for the Rights of the Terminally Ill from 1985 to 2003. A patient advocate, public speaker and writer,
