The Significance of a Wish

The case of Helga Wanglie raises questions of how 'benefit' is to be determined in the authors' society, and what role the medical profession may legitimately play in developing a definition of medical benefit.

Abstract

The case of Helga Wanglie should be seen in the general context of\nconflicts that can arise over whether a patient should be maintained on\nlife-support systems. Well-publicized conflicts of this sort usually involve\nan institution seeking to prolong the life of a patient diagnosed as\nterminally ill and/or permanently comatose, versus a family that claims, with\nvarying degrees of substantiation, that the patient would not have wanted to\nbe kept alive under these circumstances. But other sorts of conflicts about\nprolonging life also occur. Patients who have indicated a desire to stay\nalive may face opposition from family or medical staff who think these\npatients' lives are not worth prolonging. Such cases can go badly for\npatients, who may have difficulty getting their preferences even believed, let\nalone respected.