title: Intended goals and appropriate treatment: an alternative to the ordinary/extraordinary distinction.
abstract: This article argues that the ordinary/extraordinary distinction has little or no moral value when preservation of life is not given a near absolute status. What is appealed to instead is a determination of both medical and moral duties, upon which appropriate treatment decisions should be based. Included is a partial delineation of those duties.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008020:Life Support Care; D028681:Moral Obligations; D009014:Morals; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D018579:Patient Selection; D011788:Quality of Life; D026712:Value of Life; D028761:Withholding Treatment