Informed Consent and Decision Making Capacity
Paper details:
Do you agree with Sulmasy’s argument that the Catholic natural law tradition is able to provide a better account of informed consent than the “autonomy” tradition? Why or why not? Consider the following case: Mary is a 31 year old lawyer who has suffered from anorexia for the past ten years. She was in treatment in her early 20’s, and was successful enough in her therapy to complete law school and begin her practice. In recent months, however, she has lost 30lbs and her physician is now stating that she needs to re-enter therapy and begin treatment with artificial nutrition and hydration. Mary states that she does not want treatment, fully understanding that such a refusal will likely result in her death. In a conversation with her doctor, she states her refusal and comments “I don’t care if I die, as long as I die thin.” Based on this short case, do you think that Mary has decision making capacity and can provide her informed refusal for treatment? Why or why not? (Hint: Be sure you address all of the elements of both decision making capacity and in formagned consent in your response)SHOW MORE
