Is this life worth living?
Description
Through the personal experiences of three families, this documentary explores the ethical issues involved in sustaining the life of a severely brain damaged or comatose patient. It explores the plight of Patricia Brophy, who fought a legal battle for permission to remove her husband s feeding tube after he lapsed into a vegetative state. Then we meet the Barashes, who are emotionally and financially exhausted from caring for their helpless 12-year-old son. He was saved by heroic measures at birth, despite their wishes to the contrary. For another point of view we meet the Micros who will not give up on their brain damaged son after an accident in the Marine Corps. Our society is reluctantly allowing a mentally competent person to refuse life-lengthening measures. Who then should make that decision when the individual is mentally incompetent or an infant?.
Runtime
30 min
Subjects
Genre
Date of Publication
1989
Database
Alexander Street
Direct Link
Similar Films
Medicine and Children
Homeopathy. Medicine Or Magic?
One brief life. Baby L Case
School-Age Children. Beginning Pediatric Nursing
Documentation for Medical Assistants. Legal and Administrative Considerations. Part 2
Documentation and Legal Apects for CNAs
Generation Rx. Reading, Writing, and Ritalin
Vision Correction
Playing god. Human cloning
Health factory
60 minutes. Unconventional wisdom
Managing care, managing death
Personal Abuse
We Should Legalize the Market for Human Organs. A Debate
Mademoiselle and the doctor