Friday, December 22, 2006

Some folks have a head for business . . . .

The AP reports (courtesy of MyWay) on an interesting case that lies at the intersection of criminal procedure and a patient's right to refuse an unwanted medical procedure. Seventeen-year-old Joshua Bush has a 9mm bullet in his head. Its presence isn't life-threatening, and a procedure to remove it wouldn't be any more dangerous than other surgeries that require general anesthesia. He has refused requests to have it removed, and is resisting a subpoena to obtain the bullet, presumably because it may link him to a robbery of a used car lot in which shots were exchanged. So who will win? The state, which has an interest in seeing an alleged shooter brought to justice? Or a person of interest to law-enforcement who would rather not have doctors poking around his head? Art Caplan says he thinks Bush will win. More on this later . . . . (Thanks to Maguire Center Coordinator Terri Gwinn for the tip.)

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