A patient who has been in a motor vehicle crash is in a vege…
A patient who has been in a motor vehicle crash is in a vegetative state, is on life support in the ICU, and clearly will not survive. Although the doctor tells the patient’s family that continued treatment is futile; the family insists that the patient receive all possible care and refuses to make the patient a DNR or remove life support. The doctor explains that the patient will never be able to have any meaningful interactions. Despite the doctor’s grim prognosis, the patient’s family says that they would rather visit the patient in the hospital than in the graveyard. What is the crux of this ethical dilemma (in essence, what is causing the ethical conflict)?
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