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The Changing Nature Of The Bioethics Movement, Sandra H. Johnson

All Faculty Scholarship

Commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of the field of bioethics, this article analyzes the future of bioethics by identifying its role in intellectual history and classifying stages of its development.

Part I considers the formative role of Quinlan, where the New Jersey Supreme Court held that the withdrawal of medical treatment is legally permissible under some circumstances. Quinlan and its progeny established a legal framework for life-sustaining treatment decisionmaking, affirming the use of substituted judgment or best interests standards.

In Part II the article documents the framework shift brought by Cruzan, a high-profile case challenging a family’s authority to make medical …