This is what is meant when we say that a person is dying, or has entered the dying process. However, if no effective intervention or treatment is possible, the condition is irreversible (i.e., terminal) and the impaired condition will lead to death. Medical intervention that restores health and reverses the dying process is known as curative care and should be the first option. If the condition is reversible, appropriate medical intervention and treatment exists that may possibly restore a person to a state where they are no longer in imminent danger of dying. When a person suffers a potentially fatal threat to their health (e.g., disease, injury), their impaired condition may be either reversible or irreversible. Withdrawal is allowable when the fatal condition is irreversibleĪ primary consideration when determining whether treatment should be withheld or withdrawn is whether the fatal condition is reversible or irreversible. But there are certain principles and considerations that can help guide our decisions about withdrawing life-sustaining medical intervention. Such questions are complicated, and the answers often depend on the individual context. For example, when should life-sustaining treatment be withdrawn? Do Christians have an obligation to delay death as long as humanly possible? What should we do if we disagree with medical providers about continued treatment of a dying relative? We often aren’t prepared for the questions that arise in such situations. But it also has caused some to wonder what they would have done if they were Alfie’s parents. However, should that be the option that is left, it is indeed perfectly moral.The case of Alfie Evans, a terminally ill British infant who died several days after being taken off ventilation, has raised troubling concerns about the state’s authority to intervene in parental rights.
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