DOI: 10.5176/2251-3809_LRPP14.27
Authors: Vera Lúcia Raposo
Abstract: The doctor/patient relationship must be founded in a relation of trust and respect for the patient’s self-determination. End of life decisions test the limits of this relation, especially when the doctor believes that his duty is to preserve the patient’s life at any cost. However, modern criminal legislation establishes very clearly that the patient consent is inescapable and, furthermore, futile interventions can be punished as medical malpractice.
Keywords: medical malpractice, euthanasia, dysthanasia, advance directives
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