Does a doctor have the right to withhold food from his permanent comatose patient?

Question

Does a doctor have the right to withhold food from his permanent comatose patient?

Answer 1

Not to put too fine a point on it, but comatose people can't eat. If liquids are placed in the mouth, they'll reliably go down the right mainstem bronchus, leading to aspiration pneumonia and death. That, in fact, is one of the most common causes of death in the comatose.

The physician has the responsibility to do what's right for his patient. That may include placing a tube for feeding, or it may be allowing the patient to die without futile interventions, depending on circumstances.

Answer 2

A physician/surgeon would have a right to withhold life-maintaining treatment if (1) the law permits and (2) if a living will of the person directs that such an action be taken.

A doctor in the same way may not impose or force that a patient in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) be nourished or maintained when the law allows the patient to direct that he not be cared for and/or a court orders it or the next of kin has the power of attorney over the patient's care.

Can a doctor or medical establishment be compelled to nourish an individual?  I believe there is some case law that has forced hospitals to do exactly that.

A lot of what a doctor does depends on the culture and the law, the concepts of power of attorney or whether living wills are allowed and recognized.