Maternalism in Palliative Care: A Case for Relational Autonomy and Informed Non-Dissent

Area of Science:

• Bioethics
• Palliative Care
• Oncology

Background:

• Clinicians encounter patient/family desires for aggressive care conflicting with medical judgment on meaningful benefit.
• Traditional shared decision-making models may not adequately resolve these ethical tensions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present maternalism as a bioethical framework for navigating complex end-of-life care decisions.
• To support clinician-guided decision-making that respects patient values.

Main Methods:

• A case study of a 53-year-old woman with metastatic lung cancer facing a dilemma between aggressive treatment and pain control.
• Application of the bioethical construct of maternalism, integrating relational autonomy and informed non-dissent.

Main Results:

• Maternalism facilitates clinician-guided decisions that align with patient values.
• This approach can unburden families from making difficult end-of-life choices.

Conclusions:

• Maternalism provides a theoretically grounded approach for palliative care clinicians.
• It is effective in value-laden decision-making when patients are unable or unwilling to decide.