Whose interests count?

Abstract

Whose interests should count and how should various interests be balanced at the pediatric patient's bedside? The interests of the child patient clearly count. Recently, however, many authors have argued that the family's interests also count. But how should we think about the interests of others? What does it mean to talk about " the family" in this context? Does it really just mean the interests of each individual family member? Or is the family itself a moral entity that has interests of its own independent of the interests of each of its members? Are such interests important only as they affect the patient's interest or also for their own sake? In this special supplement to Pediatrics, a group of pediatricians, philosophers, and lawyers grapple with these questions. They examine these issues from different angles and reach different conclusions. Jointly, they demonstrate the ethical importance and, above all, the ethical complexity of the family's role at the bedside.