Abortion, Brain Death, and Coercion.

Area of Science:

• Bioethics
• Medical Law
• Political Philosophy

Background:

• The concept of brain death as legal death is widely accepted.
• Universalist policies mandate neurologic criteria for death determination without exceptions.
• Concerns exist regarding the ethical and philosophical underpinnings of such policies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically analyze the philosophical and political foundations of universalist brain death policies.
• To draw parallels between universalist brain death policies and reproductive rights policies.
• To argue for a re-evaluation of end-of-life decision-making frameworks.

Main Methods:

• Philosophical argumentation
• Comparative policy analysis
• Ethical critique

Main Results:

• Universalist brain death policies exhibit coercive control over end-of-life decisions.
• The philosophical basis of these policies aligns with that of restrictive reproductive policies.
• An illiberal political philosophy underpins both approaches.

Conclusions:

• The logic applied to critique coercive reproductive policies should extend to universalist brain death policies.
• A more nuanced and less coercive approach to end-of-life decision-making is warranted.
• Reconsidering the application of neurologic criteria for death determination is necessary.