Defining death : the case for choice / Robert M. Veatch and Lainie F. Ross.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Veatch, Robert M., author.

Ross, Lainie Friedman, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Death.

Brain death.

Medical Subjects:

Death.

Physical Description:

viii, 167 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Washington, DC : Georgetown University Press, [2016]

Summary:

For most of human history there was little question about whether someone was dead or alive--a heartbeat or a pulse, or a foggy mirror under the nostrils, provided sufficient evidence. But in the mid-20th century, with new technologies and medical interventions that prolonged the dying process, the questions around the precise moment of death became much more complicated. Today the global medical community recognizes three general definitions of death: whole-brain, circulatory or somatic, and higher-brain. But even in the United States alone no single concept of death has the support of the majority of its citizens. Despite attempts to create and establish a uniform definition of death, physicians and policymakers continue to disagree on criteria and standards--resulting in confusion and acrimony in medicine, law, and insurance, not to mention families gathered around the bedside of a dying loved one. In this brief introduction Veatch and Ross lay out the history of this contentious issue and describe the three major definitions of death in detail. They contend that choosing a particular definition of death reflects an individual's basic religious and philosophical beliefs about what is essential to human existence. So while they propose higher-brain death as a default policy, they argue for some degree of personal choice.

Contents:

Defining death : an introduction

The emergence of the controversy

Three groups of definitions

The emergence of a uniform brain-oriented definition

Irreversible versus permanent loss of function

Defining death and transplanting organs

The structure of the book

The dead donor rule and the concept of death

The dead donor rule

Candidates for a concept of death

The public policy question

The whole-brain concept of death

The case for the whole-brain concept

Criteria for the destruction of all brain functions

Problems with the whole-brain definition

Alternatives to the whole-brain definition

The circulatory, or somatic, concept of death

Measurements of death

Circulatory death and organ procurement

The DCD protocols

Shewmon's somatic concept

The two definitions of the US President's Council on Bioethics

The higher-brain concept of death

Which brain functions are critical?

Altered states of consciousness : a continuum

Measuring loss of higher-brain function

Ancillary tests

The legal status of death

The conscience clause : how much individual choice can our society tolerate in defining death?

The present state of the law

Concepts, criteria, and the role of value pluralism

Explicit patient choice, substituted judgment, and best interest

Limits on the range of discretion

The problem of order : objections to a conscience clause

Implementation of a conscience clause

Conclusion

Crafting a new definition of death law

Incorporating the higher-brain notion

The conscience clause

Clarification of the concept of irreversibility

A proposed new definition of death for public policy purposes.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Veatch, Robert M., author. Defining death

ISBN:

9781626163553

9781626163546

1626163545

1626163553

OCLC:

937368126

Publisher Number:

99969467901