SOCIAL PERCEPTIONS OF TERMINATION OF MEDICAL-TREATMENT - SUICIDE OR RATIONAL DECISION

In two studies, college students read about a critically ill patient w ho died after CPR attempts failed, CPR was not attempted pursuant to a ''Do-Not-Resuscitate'' (DNR) order, he terminated all medical treatme nt, or he self-administered a lethal injection. Death resulting from t reatment termination was perceived as significantly more unconventiona l than were death by CPR Failure or DNR order. Ending treatment and le thal injection were perceived as equivalent acts of suicide, and resul ted in the patient's being seen as less rational and less capable of m aking health care decisions. Timing of the patient's decisions regardi ng treatment, as indicated by the presence or absence of Living Will i nformation, did not alter these perceptions. Results are discussed in light of opposing hypotheses regarding views of ''naive'' social perce ivers toward actions with identical outcomes: that acts of commission are perceived as causal and rated more negatively than acts of omissio n (Spranca, Minsk, & Baron, 1991), and that acts seen as abnormal are attributed greater causal impact (Hilton & Slugoski, 1986).