Imagining the Unthinkable, Illuminating the Present

 

Jeffrey T. Berger, Guest Editor, Clinical Ethics in Catastrophic Situations: Mapping a Standard of Care—Imagining the Unthinkable

 

The Journal of Clinical Ethics 22, no. 1 (Spring 2011): 17-19.

 

During a catastrophe that disables the health system, ethically charged situations will undoubtedly emerge that will challenge patients, relatives, clinicians, and others involved in health delivery. This second of two special sections of The Journal of Clinical Ethics includes discussions of the implications of a system collapse on particularly vulnerable member of society, children, pregnant women, and those who are socio-economically, culturally, and linguistically disempowered. Additionally, it offers insights into the processes used by committees to plan for catastrophic care.