Bioethics Mediation at the End of Life: Opportunities and Limitations

Ellen A. Waldman, Professor of Law at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law has published a thoughtful article entitled, Bioethics Mediation at the End of Life: Opportunities and Limitations, Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 15, No. 2, p. 449, 2014; Thomas Jefferson School of Law Research Paper No. 2446758.  In her paper, Professor Waldman examines the use of mediation in end of life health care decision-making.

Here is the abstract:

Decision-making at the end of life requires the inclusion of many voices. Patients speak directly or indirectly through their advance directives. Families assume the patient’s voice where advance directives are absent or unclear, and clinicians speak from the podium of professional authority, urging those outcomes they believe to be most medically and ethically appropriate. The opportunities for conflict are legion.

This article discusses the mechanics of bioethics mediation, its constituent parts and distinctive attributes. Using a case-study of an elderly patient with end-stage dementia and the question of whether a feeding tube should be placed, the article discusses both the promise and practical limits of mediation in the end of life context.

This and other scholarly articles authored by Professor Waldman may be downloaded for free from the Social Science Research Network.

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