Abstrakt
Modern medicine has its limits, and in some cases, doctors may come to the conclusion that there is nothing more which they can do to meaningfully benefit the patient, apart from palliative care and support of the patient and their family during the final days. When such cases involve children they are particularly sensitive because parents usually want to help their child at all costs and may wish to prolong care or request experimental therapeutic methods, even if it promises very little from the objective viewpoint.
The doctors may intend to end curative care, sometimes even turn off the life-support systems; the parents may strongly oppose it. When such a conflict arises, it easily transposes into a legal dispute and courts may get engaged.
How should such conflicts be approached and resolved by the judiciary? The article discusses several selected cases which illustrate the critical issues, and formulates some general observations which transcend particular national legal systems.