Medical futility is usually discussed in the context of life-sustaining treatment in the ICU. But the new June 2015 issue 15(7) of American Journal of Bioethics addresses futility in another context.
There is one 10-page target article and six 2-page commentaries.
Futility in Chronic Anorexia Nervosa: A Concept Whose Time Has Not Yet Come
Cynthia M. A. Geppert
Anorexia Nervosa, “Futility,” and Category Errors
Ronald W. Pies
The Futility of Arguing About Medical Futility in Anorexia Nervosa: The Question Is How Would You Handle Highly Specific Circumstances?
Joel Yager
“Futility” Is a Failed Concept in Medical Decision Making: Its Use Should Be Abandoned
John J. Paris & Andrew Hawkins
Is Resistance (N)ever Futile?
Cushla McKinney
Compulsory Treatment in Chronic Anorexia Nervosa by All Means? Searching for a Middle Ground Between a Curative and a Palliative Approach
Manuel Trachsel, Verina Wild, Nikola Biller-Andorno & Tanja Krones
Ms X: A Promising New View of Anorexia Nervosa, Futility, and End-of-Life Decisions in a Very Recent English Case
Robin Mackenzie
A Misunderstanding Concerning Futility
Tommaso Bruni & Charles Weijer
The views, opinions and positions expressed by these authors and blogs are theirs and do not necessarily represent that of the Bioethics Research Library and Kennedy Institute of Ethics or Georgetown University.