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Roman concept of mental capacity to make end-of-life decisions

Mendelson, Danuta 2007, Roman concept of mental capacity to make end-of-life decisions, International journal of law and psychiatry, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 201-212.

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Title Roman concept of mental capacity to make end-of-life decisions
Author(s) Mendelson, Danuta
Journal name International journal of law and psychiatry
Volume number 30
Issue number 3
Start page 201
End page 212
Publisher Pergamon Press
Place of publication New York, N.Y.
Publication date 2007-05
ISSN 0160-2527
1873-6386
Keyword(s) end of life decisions
patient competence
medical ethics
medical treatment
mental competency
Summary When assessing decisional competence of patients, psychiatrists have to balance the patients' right to personal autonomy, their condition and wishes against principles of medical ethics and professional discretion. This article explores the age-old legal and ethical dilemmas posed by refusal of vital medical treatment by patients and their mental capacity to make end-of-life decisions against the background of philosophical, legal and medical approaches to these issues in the time of the Younger Pliny (c62–c113 CE). Classical Roman discourse regarding mental competency and "voluntary death" formed an important theme of the vast corpus of Greco-Roman writings, which was moulded not only by legal permissibility of suicide but also by philosophical (in modern terms, moral or ethical) considerations. Indeed, the legal and ethical issues of evaluating the acceptability of end of life decisions discussed in the Letters are as pertinent today as they were 2000 years ago. We may gain valuable insights about our own methodologies and frames of reference in this area of the law and psychiatry by examining Classical Roman approaches to evaluating acceptability of death-choices as described in Pliny's Letters and the writings of some of his peers.
Language eng
Field of Research 220204 History and Philosophy of Law and Justice
Socio Economic Objective 970118 Expanding Knowledge in Law and Legal Studies
HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal
ERA Research output type C Journal article
Copyright notice ©2007, Elsevier Ltd
Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30007721

Document type: Journal Article
Collections: School of Law
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