Subjective Test

One of the best interests standards used in courts of law for determining whether or not life-sustaining treatment may be withheld or withdrawn from an incompetent patient who has not made an advance directive regarding their current situation. According to the subjective test, treatment may be withheld or withdrawn if it is clear that the patient would have refused the treatment under the circumstances. Accordingly, the question is not what a reasonable person would want, but what the particular patient would have chosen. This standard seeks to preserve the patient’s right of self-determination by placing the patient’s own preferences at the center of deliberation in contrast to the limited-objective test and pure-objective test, which still seek to determine what is in the patient’s best interest but include other criteria in addition to the patient’s preferences. (See also, the legal case of Claire Conroy.) [Source: In re Conroy, 486 A. 2d. 1209.]

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