Current ethical and legal issues in gastrointestinal endoscopy.

The ethical and legal aspects of gastroenterology practice have changed over the past 20 years just as remarkably as the technological features of care. Answers to questions like "May competent adult patients refuse medical treatment?" and "Is the medically-mediated delivery of nutrition and hydration a 'medical treatment'?" must be considered in light of the Cruzan case and new arguments about the benefits and burdens of feeding tubes.