The term medical futility has become a shorthand way to describe a situation in which a patient demands and a physician objects to the provision of certain medical treatment, on the ground that the treatment will provide no medical benefit to the patient. The dilemma of medically futile care has gained prominence as a subject for debate in medical and legal literature, has been discussed implicitly and explicitly in court opinions, and has weighed heavily in the debate surrounding health care reform and accompanying discussion of allocation of health care resources.
Recently, the issues surrounding the provision of nonbeneficial care became the subject of a federal court opinion. On February 10, 1994, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit handed down its decision in In re Baby K, a case that has since served as the central focus for debate over the provision of medical treatment deemed inappropriate or futile by a patient’s physician.