Live or Let Die

A central theme of First, Do No Harm, is the question of whether severely and terminally ill patients should be allowed to die. An initial human motivation in the face of great sickness and need is to do everything possible to keep an individual alive. However, sometimes the patient's quantity of life conflicts with its quality. Should a child be kept alive if her life is going to be miserable and full of pain? Or suppose that she is comatose or severely mentally handicapped? Many argue that a life does not have value if enjoyment of that life is not at least part of it. In First, Do No Harm, the live or let die theme is represented by the constant struggle of families to decide whether to give their sick family member surgery to help them live or to allow them to die. Often...