Lessons from a "Goses"--a Dying Person
Thirty-five years ago, as an attending physician in an intensive care unit, I pondered the ethical issues involved in the use—and misuse—of increasingly powerful medical technology. Twelve years before that, in 1968, during my internship, there were few end-of-life ethical conundrums: We treated every patient as aggressively as possible—always. Death was the enemy, and we employed every medical intervention to avoid the demise of our patients.