Death, Brain Death, and the Limits of Science: Why the Whole-Brain Concept of Death Is a Flawed Public Policy

Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics 38 (3):667-683 (2010)
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Abstract

Legally defining “death” in terms of brain death unacceptably obscures a value judgment that not all reasonable people would accept. This is disingenuous, and it results in serious moral flaws in the medical practices surrounding organ donation. Public policy that relies on the whole-brain concept of death is therefore morally flawed and in need of revision

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10.1111/j.1748-720x.2010.00520.x

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Michael Nair-Collins
Florida State University

Citations of this work

The intractable problems with brain death and possible solutions.Ari R. Joffe, Gurpreet Khaira & Allan R. de Caen - 2021 - Philosophy, Ethics and Humanities in Medicine 16 (1):1-27.

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References found in this work

Defining Death.William Charlton - 2022 - New Blackfriars 103 (1107):607-621.
Mathematics, Matter and Method. Philosophical Papers.Hilary Putnam - 1978 - Philosophy of Science 45 (1):151-155.
A Defense of the Whole‐Brain Concept of Death.James L. Bernat - 1998 - Hastings Center Report 28 (2):14-23.
The Whole-Brain Concept of Death Remains Optimum Public Policy.James L. Bernat - 2006 - Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics 34 (1):35-43.

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