When can Muslims withdraw or withhold life support? A narrative review of Islamic juridical rulings
When it is ethically justifiable to stop medical treatment? For many Muslim patients, families, and clinicians this ethical question remains a challenging one as Islamic ethico-legal guidance on such matters remains scattered and difficult to interpret. In light of this gap, we conducted a systemati...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Global Bioethics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/11287462.2020.1736243 |
| _version_ | 1819073014180872192 |
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| author | Afshan Mohiuddin Mehrunisha Suleman Shoaib Rasheed Aasim I. Padela |
| author_facet | Afshan Mohiuddin Mehrunisha Suleman Shoaib Rasheed Aasim I. Padela |
| author_sort | Afshan Mohiuddin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | When it is ethically justifiable to stop medical treatment? For many Muslim patients, families, and clinicians this ethical question remains a challenging one as Islamic ethico-legal guidance on such matters remains scattered and difficult to interpret. In light of this gap, we conducted a systematic literature review to aggregate rulings from Islamic jurists and juridical councils on whether, and when, it is permitted to withdraw and/or withhold life-sustaining care. A total of 16 fatwās were found, 8 of which were single-author rulings, and 8 represented the collective view of a juridical council. The fatwās are similar in that nearly all judge that Islamic law, provided certain conditions are met, permits abstaining from life-sustaining treatment. Notably, the justifying conditions appear to rely on physician assessment of the clinical prognosis. The fatwās differ when it comes to what conditions justify withdrawing or withholding life- sustaining care. Our analyses suggest that while notions of futility greatly impact the bioethical discourse regarding with holding and/or withdrawal of treatment, the conceptualization of futility lacks nuance. Therefore, clinicians, Islamic jurists, and bioethicists need to come together in order to unify a conception of medical futility and relate it to the ethics of withholding and/or withdrawal of treatment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T17:46:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7c76d3025c2d4dd1b58815d86f541f16 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1128-7462 1591-7398 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T17:46:53Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Bioethics |
| spelling | doaj.art-7c76d3025c2d4dd1b58815d86f541f162022-12-21T18:55:28ZengTaylor & Francis GroupGlobal Bioethics1128-74621591-73982020-01-01311294610.1080/11287462.2020.17362431736243When can Muslims withdraw or withhold life support? A narrative review of Islamic juridical rulingsAfshan Mohiuddin0Mehrunisha Suleman1Shoaib Rasheed2Aasim I. Padela3Initiative on Islam and Medicine, Program on Medicine and Religion, The University of ChicagoCentre of Islamic Studies, University of CambridgeDepartment of Internal Medicine, Henry Ford Macomb HospitalInitiative on Islam and Medicine, Program on Medicine and Religion, The University of ChicagoWhen it is ethically justifiable to stop medical treatment? For many Muslim patients, families, and clinicians this ethical question remains a challenging one as Islamic ethico-legal guidance on such matters remains scattered and difficult to interpret. In light of this gap, we conducted a systematic literature review to aggregate rulings from Islamic jurists and juridical councils on whether, and when, it is permitted to withdraw and/or withhold life-sustaining care. A total of 16 fatwās were found, 8 of which were single-author rulings, and 8 represented the collective view of a juridical council. The fatwās are similar in that nearly all judge that Islamic law, provided certain conditions are met, permits abstaining from life-sustaining treatment. Notably, the justifying conditions appear to rely on physician assessment of the clinical prognosis. The fatwās differ when it comes to what conditions justify withdrawing or withholding life- sustaining care. Our analyses suggest that while notions of futility greatly impact the bioethical discourse regarding with holding and/or withdrawal of treatment, the conceptualization of futility lacks nuance. Therefore, clinicians, Islamic jurists, and bioethicists need to come together in order to unify a conception of medical futility and relate it to the ethics of withholding and/or withdrawal of treatment.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/11287462.2020.1736243withholdingwithdrawalfatwaend of life careislam muslim |
| spellingShingle | Afshan Mohiuddin Mehrunisha Suleman Shoaib Rasheed Aasim I. Padela When can Muslims withdraw or withhold life support? A narrative review of Islamic juridical rulings Global Bioethics withholding withdrawal fatwa end of life care islam muslim |
| title | When can Muslims withdraw or withhold life support? A narrative review of Islamic juridical rulings |
| title_full | When can Muslims withdraw or withhold life support? A narrative review of Islamic juridical rulings |
| title_fullStr | When can Muslims withdraw or withhold life support? A narrative review of Islamic juridical rulings |
| title_full_unstemmed | When can Muslims withdraw or withhold life support? A narrative review of Islamic juridical rulings |
| title_short | When can Muslims withdraw or withhold life support? A narrative review of Islamic juridical rulings |
| title_sort | when can muslims withdraw or withhold life support a narrative review of islamic juridical rulings |
| topic | withholding withdrawal fatwa end of life care islam muslim |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/11287462.2020.1736243 |
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