Rouse F
Legal services for the Society for the Right to Die, Inc., New York City.
Geriatrics. 1988 Aug;43(8):69-70, 74-5.
In the American legal system, the right to refuse treatment--the right, in other words, to be "let alone"--is an important aspect of autonomy and individuality. In health care decision making, people rarely choose to have no treatment at all, but usually choose from among various forms of medical treatment. Even when aggressive technological options are rejected, patients will often elect to have intensive nursing and pain control. Sometimes they choose to forego treatment and risk hastening death. Particularly among the elderly, a series of small decisions may have to be made as health status worsens over time. No matter what the decision, in observing patients' wishes, physicians will find support in current ethical and legal concepts.
在美国法律体系中，拒绝治疗的权利——换言之，即“独处”的权利——是自主性和个性的一个重要方面。在医疗决策中，人们很少选择完全不接受治疗，而是通常在各种医疗形式中进行选择。即使拒绝了激进的技术手段，患者往往也会选择接受重症护理和疼痛控制。有时他们会选择放弃治疗并冒着加速死亡的风险。特别是在老年人中，随着健康状况随时间恶化，可能需要做出一系列小决策。无论做出何种决定，在遵循患者意愿方面，医生都能从当前的伦理和法律观念中找到支持。
