Futile treatment: the need for legislation and uniform policies.

As a matter of social policy, providers should place a top priority on educating colleagues and the public, including lawyers and the courts, so that there is genuine understanding that certain medical conditions, like anencephaly and brain death, cannot be ameliorated, changed, or improved through medical treatment even though the patient may continue to breathe with mechanical assistance for years. If health care professionals do not articulate and adhere to clear, universal standards of practice in this area, the courts will continue to define the duty of the medical profession, and, as Baby K illustrates, that is not acceptable.