SOCIAL DEATH AS SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY - SUDNOW,DAVID PASSING ON REVISITED

In his classic Passing On, David Sudnow described how the presumed soc ial value of patients affects whether the staff will attempt to revive them. Since this study was published, the health care field has under gone dramatic changes and commentators have questioned whether the soc ial rationing described by Sudnow is still relevant. Specifically, cri tics point tb the increased rationalization of medical practice via pr otocols, a widely accepted resuscitation theory, and legal initiatives to promote resuscitative efforts and protect patient autonomy. Based on observations of 112 resuscitative efforts and interviews with forty -two health care workers, I demonstrate that the recent changes in the health care system did not weaken but instead fostered social inequal ity in death and dying.