Opinion ID: 1967199
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sharing The Decisions

Text: One of the hopes of the Quinlan Court was that there would develop, in conjunction with area hospitals, a process to review medical ethical decisions. In the Court's view, the concept of an ethics committee, which would be readily accessible to those persons rendering care to patients, would be a promising direction for further study of such issues. In re Quinlan, supra, 70 N.J. at 49. Such a panel would have the dual benefit of diffusing the professional responsibility for a decision (comparable, in a way, to the value of multi-judge courts) and insuring the viability of the decisional process. Id. at 50. In the real world and in relationship to the momentous decision contemplated, the value of additional views and diverse knowledge is apparent. Ibid. In In re Conroy, supra, 98 N.J. at 384, in the context of an institutionalized, elderly person, we stated that the involvement of two independent physicians for establishing the factual basis of the decision, and the concurrence of the ombudsman and available family members, would assure the correctness of the choice made. In the context of this case, apart from the hospital setting, such a committee might have provided aid and counsel to a physician and family facing such a decision. The commencement of the decision to discontinue the life-supporting apparatus was first undertaken in November 1985. It was the patient's first discussion of such a choice. I believe that the availability of such a review panel would reinforce the ability of a guardian ad litem to present to the court any available medically acceptable alternatives that might assist the court in making a decision. As noted in this case, it appears clear that because of the nature of the disease, there were no reasonable alternatives that would have ameliorated the condition of the patient.