Marlise Muñoz, a married mother of one, was found unconscious byher husband due to a blood clot in her lung. After being rushed tothe hospital, she was declared brain-dead and discovered to havebeen 14 weeks pregnant. The family viewed her as having died, sinceshe was brain-dead, and demanded that she be removed from lifesupport. State law prohibited the withdrawal of life-sustainingtreatment from a pregnant woman, so the hospital refused thefamily’s request, insisting that Marlise remain on life support for4 months until the fetus had some possibility of surviving outsidethe womb. Over the course of the ensuing months, the unborn fetuswas determined to be nonviable due to hydrocephalus, a possibleheart problem, and structural defects in the extremities.Nonetheless, the hospital persisted in its refusal until the familysuccessfully obtained a court order requiring the hospital toremove Marlise from mechanical ventilation. Note: This is basedupon a real case that received national attention.
Question 1: How would you defend the hospital’s decisionto keep Marlise on a ventilator in this scenario on the basis ofthe wedge principle?
Question 2: How could the ethical principle ofbeneficence be used to critique the hospital’s decision to keepMarlise on a ventilator in this scenario?
