Forgoing Medically Provided Nutrition and Hydration in Children
Douglas S. Diekema, MD MPH, Jeffrey R. Botkin, MD, MPH Committee on Bioethics
PEDIATRICS Vol. 124 No.2 August 2009, pp. 813-822
An excerpt from the abstract:
The American Academy of Pediatrics concludes that the withdrawal of medically administered fluids and nutrition for pediatric patients is ethically acceptable in limited circumstances. Ethics consultation is strongly recommended when particularly difficult or controversial decisions are being considered.
The Med Page Today has detailed information on this statement here. It says,
The AAP’s bioethics committee, headed by Douglas S. Diekema, MD, MPH, and Jeffrey R. Botkin, MD, developed a position statement outlining limited circumstances under which clinicians can ethically halt feeding and hydration in pediatric patients. “Medically provided fluids and nutrition may be withdrawn from a child who permanently lacks awareness and the ability to interact with the environment,” according to a statement published in the August issue of Pediatrics, the official AAP journal.
Dr. Diekema, the ethicist in charge of the Ashley case who has been trying very hard to make growth attenuation therapy into general practice, is chair of the AAP committee on Bioethics now.
