What is the right to refuse treatment?
A major issue at the end-of-life is the ability of an individual to refuse treatment or to stop the continuation of treatment. Currently, competent individuals have a constitutionally protected right to refuse medical treatment. For example, an adult Jehovah’s Witness can refuse to have a blood transfusion even if one is needed to save his/her life. However, if the parent of a child refuses a blood transfusion for that child, the State’s interest to protect children may override the decision of the parents. The issue of surrogate decision-making will be discussed in a later section. The right to refuse treatment was established in the Cruzan case and is recognized in all 50 states. The right to refuse treatment is different from physician-assisted suicide (PAS). This difference is based on the concept of “hastening death.” It is illegal for a physician to “hasten death.” In PAS, the physician acts intentionally to hasten the death of a patient, such as giving a lethal dose of drugs. Dr
