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Futility And The Principle Of Medical Futility: Safeguarding Autonomy And The Prohibition Against Cruel And Unusual Punishment, George P. Smith Ii
Futility And The Principle Of Medical Futility: Safeguarding Autonomy And The Prohibition Against Cruel And Unusual Punishment, George P. Smith Ii
Scholarly Articles
Administering futile medical treatment is tantamount to inflicting cruel and unusual punishment on a patient and an abridgement of his rights of self-determination. It is incumbent upon physicians to recognize that they should accept the imposition of an affirmative legal, professional, moral and ethical duty not to prescribe a modality of treatment that falls clearly within the scope of being considered futile, freakish, or tortious under the provisions of Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. When medical treatment is classified as "futile," it frees the physician from any duty to provide treatment. While most reasonable persons agree with this proposition, much …