Please read the story, “Tube Feeding,” by Richard Selzer, and think about the concept of medical futility in all of its different meanings, discussed in the lecture video and in the essay by Schneiderman et al. As you read the story, consider the couple’s apparent judgment of the futility of continued feedings. Thinking through all the different concepts of medical futility, what sort(s) of futility do you think they recognize, in withdrawing the tube feeding? How is their example helpful or misleading, in helping us think through the difficult question of knowing when it’s time to let go. Do you think it’s all right, what they’ve done? What sorts of reasons do you find, for your evaluation of their conduct?
