Stroke medicine-ethical and legal considerations

In this short paper we set out to demonstrate common ground between Medical Ethics and Jurisprudence. We delineate the scope of the debate entailing juristic and medical ethical issues in stroke medicine. The article refers to joint legal and ethical issues pertaining to withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment and advance directives. A key concern is that certain essential clinical prognostic questions require to be evaluated before any justifiable discussion about their ethical implications can ensue. The pre-eminence of the principle of autonomy in medical ethics and jurisprudence is emphasised throughout the paper.