title: Withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment in a patient's best interests: Australian judicial deliberations.
abstract: Intractable disputes about withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment from adults who lack capacity are rare but challenging. Judicial resolution may be needed in some of these cases. A central concept for judicial (and clinical) decision making in this area is a patient's "best interests". Yet what this term means is contested. There is an emerging Supreme Court jurisprudence that sheds light on when life-sustaining treatment will, or will not, be judged to be in a patient's best interests. Treatment that is either futile or overly burdensome is not in a patient's best interests. Although courts will consider patient and family wishes, they have generally deferred to the views of medical practitioners about treatment decisions.
authors.affiliation: Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. l.willmott@qut.edu.au.
authors.forename: Lindy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Willmott
authors.affiliation: Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Malcolm K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Dominic J C
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
mesh_terms: D016223:Advance Directives / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D001315:Australia; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D008020:Life Support Care / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D018447:Medical Futility / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D016743:Mental Competency; D019727:Proxy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D011788:Quality of Life; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D028761:Withholding Treatment / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*