Brain death and refusal to remove life support

[Legaltrends]

I am looking to understand which nursing ethics principles are being violated when a patient is legally brain dead and the family refuses to withdraw support. I feel that it is non-maleficience to the family. Would you agree or disagree?

[TriciaJ, RN]

While I agree with your first paragraph, I don't think it matters whether the religion in question is a Christian religion or not.

Actually, if you read all the available information on this particular case (much of it on AN) it will appear that religion really doesn't play a part in this. This family presents as extremely dysfunctional and display cash-grab behaviours.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

But we are talking about brain death, not a terminal wean. Don't confuse the two. The patient is dead. There are no miracles to happen. I completely understand a person who is so sick that they need to be terminally weaned, and it's obvious to us, but the family is in denial. They can hold out hope, and to be honest I can see it. I may react that way with my loved ones. I hope not, but if was my husband, I can't say I would pray for a miracle.

But death is death and it's permanent.

You sound awfully certain.

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

So, if I'm reading that article correctly, she was declared brain dead and the family refused a brain flow study? That's a sticky situation. Brain death was determined by physician judgement. She's still declared dead though. I wonder how the citizens of New Jersey feel that there tax dollars are being spent on treating a dead person?

I don't know that case very well, just for what I remember in the news from a few years ago. I'm very interested to know what Christian religion does not recognize brain death and the reasoning. It makes no sense.

While I'm always respectful of religious beliefs, this is one of those things that makes me hate religions all together. They preach things that are absolutely not true.

I could be very wrong - but I don't believe Christianity in general has any objection to terminating extraordinary measures when the patient is brain dead. There may be a few fundamentalist groups that have these views but I have been a Catholic my whole life and don't remember anything about this coming up in my 12 years of pre-college education and it was Catholic all the way. There is of course the instruction "Though shall not kill" but you can't kill someone who is already dead."

Hppy