Quality of Life and Non-Treatment Decisions for Incompetent Patients: A Critique of the Orthodox Approach

Since the Quinlan ¹ decision in 1976, courts and legislatures have made substantial progress in defining rules to govern nontreatment of dying and debilitated patients. For example, the right of the competent patient to refuse necessary care is now widely established, and the legality of withdrawing respirators and even nutrition and hydration from permanently unconscious patients is increasingly recognized.