Introduction

Abstract

One of the fundamental questions of contemporary bioethics is the treatment of terminally ill patients and patients (such as persistent vegetative patients) whose quality of life is very poor. Should such patients receive aggressive medical care or should they just be kept comfortable and allowed to die? Should they even be offered the option of assisted suicide or of euthanasia? What decisional process should be employed in making these decisions? Ever since the tragic case of Karen Ann Quinlan called public attention to these issues, the discussion of them has dominated the literature of bioethics.