All Articles by Ronald Clary, JD
Dr. Clary is an attorney with a private practice in Canoga Park, California. He is a graduate of the University of California Los Angeles Law School (JD). He is currently also on the staff of Biola University, La Mirada, California.
Pulling The Plug Too Soon?
A new report raises important questions about whether or not some people diagnosed as irrevocably unconscious really are.The study published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) finds that some patients previously diagnosed to be in a vegetative state were mentally aware and able to communicate. Researchers found that when such patients were placed in an functional MRI (fMRI) scanner and asked questions, they exhibited measurable brain activity showing actual understanding and response.
You Have a Right to Choose if we Agree
My first encounter with informed medical consent came as a young law student. I was assigned to assist a lawyer in the defense of an older man who had refused treatment for leukemia. His daughter objected, and asked the court to appoint her to be his conservator so she could compel him to undergo treatment.When the father spoke to my supervisor, his position became clear. His atypical choice was informed by his cultural background and personal character. An immigrant from Eastern Europe, he was adamantly against yielding control of his life to his daughter. He had tried the medicines, and found they sapped his strength and made him weak. He would rather go on strong for as long as possible and remain his own master.
Popular Posts
- The Love Drug
- Women After Sex
- Fatty Acids and Suicide Risk
- Mind Games - Science's Attempts at Thought Control
- Risks of Personalized Medicine
- Mental Health Disorders Prevalent Among Youth Worldwide
- Is Giftedness Nothing More than Good Genes?
- The Many Emerging Roles of Astrocytes
- Behind the Masks - The Mysteries of Dissociative Identity Disorder
- The NeuroSocial Network
Future Posts
- The Brain’s Buying Power
Latest Posts
- Aging Intelligently
- A Nicotine Patch a Day Keeps the Cognitive Impairment Away
- The Many Emerging Roles of Astrocytes
- Diabetes Impairs Cognition
- Media Violence Leads to Real Violence
- Intelligence – Are You Holding Back Your Brain?
- Childhood Aggression Predicts Health Care Use Later in Life
- The Brain’s Border Patrol – Blood Brain Barrier
- Risks of Personalized Medicine
- BED-head and Obesity – Food for Thought
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