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Refusing treatment for mental illness: historical and ethical dimensions
The American Journal of Psychiatry
|March 1, 1980
Summary
Physicians should balance medical interventions with nature's healing. While care is always essential, sometimes withholding overzealous treatment respects patient autonomy and natural recovery processes.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Philosophy of Medicine
Background:
- Historical context of physician intervention.
- Tensions between medical technology, natural healing, and physician authority.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the historical basis for physician over-intervention.
- To explore ethical considerations in medical treatment decisions.
Main Methods:
- Philosophical analysis of historical medical practices.
- Discussion of John Stuart Mill's "On Liberty" and Gerald Dworkin's "Paternalism".
Main Results:
- Identifies historical trends towards excessive medical intervention.
- Highlights the conflict between technological capabilities and natural healing.
Conclusions:
- Recommends judicious intervention, emphasizing that care should never be withheld.
- Suggests that ethical practice sometimes requires withholding treatment, not care.
Keywords:
Hippocrates