Abstract
When the threat of legal action is more important than granting the wish of a patient, there is something wrong with our priorities. Unfortunately, the desire to allow life to end, is thought to be a result of mental incompetence. A decision to continue life, no matter how painful, embarrassing, or without pleasure that life is, is accepted as coming from a healthy mind. If the decision is to allow natural events to end life, mental ability and stability are questioned. Ceasing dialysis is not pure suicide. It is rather, recognition of the inevitable end to life. Dialysis is not without pain, discomfort, and the expenditure of much energy. Consider only the effort of an outpatient to arrive at a dialysis unit.
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© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Kolff, W.J., Scribner, B.H., Starzl, T., Friedman, E.A. (1998). Medical Ethics. In: Strength and Compassion in Kidney Failure. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5296-9_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5296-9_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-5236-5
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-5296-9
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