Cessation of the artificial delivery of food and fluids: Defining terminal illness and care

Abstract

The authors argue that those permanently unconscious are by definition terminally ill and suffering from a fatal pathology, because medical treatment in their cases will not lead to a restoration of health and will prolong the dying process. They include, as medical treatment, the artificial provision of sustenance and hydration and argue that this intervention is optional when it is useless for returning the person to cognitive/ affective activity or when it is burdensome. Finally, they analyze the notion of care and argue that even when the artificial delivery of sustenance is considered to be care (wrongly, in their view), it can still be legitimately refused or withdrawn when it becomes unduly burdensome.