Symposium on Medical Futility in Perspectives on Biology and Medicine

Perspectives on Biology and Medicine is about to post its Special Issue on
Futility. This issue includes 150 pages by some of the leading thinkers on the issue and another five pages be me.

Introduction to the Special Issue
Martha Montello

The Abuse of Futility
Lawrence J. Schneiderman, Nancy S. Jecker, and Albert R. Jonsen

Resolving Family-Clinician Disputes in the Context of Contested Definitions of Futility
Gabriel T. Bosslet, Bernard Lo, and Douglas B. White

Getting Past Words: Futility and the Professional Ethics of Life-Sustaining Treatment
Allan S. Brett and Laurence B. McCullough

Futility: Definition and Goals
Howard Brody

Futile Treatment and Conquering Death
Daniel Callahan

Who Will Teach Us to Die? Reflections on Futility and Finitude
Larry R. Churchill

The Brutal but Utile Truth of “Futile”
Arthur R. Derse

Futility, Inappropriateness, Conflict, and the Complexity of Medical Decision-Making
Chris Feudtner and Pamela G. Nathanson

Futility, the Multiorganization Policy Statement, and the Schneiderman Response
Robert L. Fine

“Futility” as in English or “Futilities” as in French: A Valuable Semantic Misunderstanding?
Véronique Fournier

Mediative Fluency and Futility Disputes
Samantha F. Knowlton and Joseph J. Fins

Futile and Potentially Inappropriate Interventions: Semantics Matter
Alexander A. Kon

Intractable Disagreements About Futility
John Lantos

Medical Futility and “Brain Death”
Franklin G. Miller

The True Abuse of Futility
Laura Miller-Smith

Criterialism versus Deliberativism
Cheryl Misak

Medical Futility and Involuntary Passive Euthanasia
Michael Nair-Collins

Medical Futility and Potentially Inappropriate Treatment: Better Ethics with More Precise Definitions and Language
Thaddeus Mason Pope

The Concept of Futility: Recognizing the Importance of Context
Robert D. Truog

End-of-Life Futility Conversations: When Language Matters
Connie M. Ulrich

Why Some “Futile” Care Is “Appropriate”: The Implications for Conscientious Objection to Contraceptive Services
Robert M. Veatch

Nurturing Futility in the NICU: The Dutch Perspective
Eduard Verhagen