In ancient Rome parents would consult the priestess Carmentis shortly after birth to obtain prophecies of the future of their newborn infant. Today, parents and doctors of critically ill children consult a different oracle. Neuroimaging provides a vision of the childs future, particularly of the nature and severity of any disability. Based on the results of brain scans and other tests doctors and parents face heart-breaking decisions about whether or not to continue intensivetreatment or to allow the child to die. Paediatrician and ethicist Dominic Wilkinson looks at the profound and contentious ethical issues facing those who work in intensive care caring for critically ill children and infants. When should infants or children be allowed to die? How accurate are predictions of future quality of life? How much say should parents have in these decisions? How should they deal with uncertainty about the future? He combines philosophy, medicine and science to shed light on current and futuredilemmas.
Prologue 1: The temple of Carmentis 30AD; Prologue 2: The Carmentis Machine: 2030 AD; Introduction: Neuroethics and intensive care; Section A; Destiny, disability, and death; Best interests and the Carmentis machine; Starting again; Competing interests; Section B; Sources of Uncertainty-prognostic research; Managing uncertainty; Interests and uncertainty; The Threshold framework; Index;
Comments (0)
Your review appreciation cannot be sent
Report comment
Are you sure that you want to report this comment?
Report sent
Your report has been submitted and will be considered by a moderator.