24 Med. & L. 279 (2005)
Strict Vegan, Low-Calorie Diet Administered by Care-Giving Daughter to Elderly Mother - Is This Elder Abuse

handle is hein.journals/mlv24 and id is 289 raw text is: Med Law (2005) 24:279-296 Medicine and Law CYOZMOT2005 Medical Law STRICT VEGAN, LOW-CALORIE DIET ADMINISTERED BY CARE- GIVING DAUGHTER TO ELDERLY MOTHER - IS THIS ELDER ABUSE? E-L. Marcus *, C. Wasserstein Fassberg **, J.Namestnik*, D.Guedj*, Y.Caine* Abstract: We present a case in which a 40 year old woman, who was the primary care-giver of her 78 year-old mother, provided a strict vegan diet which caused the mother severe malnutrition. The mother was hospitalized with severe functional deterioration and, while eating a proper diet during hospitalization, gained weight and her condition improved. The case was reported to the Welfare Officer and the mother was released under the supervision of the Welfare Officer. Cases of severe malnutrition and even death of infants who were fed a strict vegan diet have been reported. This case raises some ethical and legal issues. Should a guardian or a caregiver be allowed to make decisions regarding the way of life and medical treatment of the person in his/her charge which are likely to endanger that person's health and when is it appropriate for society to intervene in individual freedom? The paper includes a review of some reported cases of child and elder abuse or neglect which illustrate these issues. Keywords: Patient's autonomy; vegan diet; malnutrition; elder abuse; elder abuse laws; caregiver; guardian Case Report A 40 year old woman, who was the primary caregiver of her 78 year-old mother, provided a diet which caused the mother severe malnutrition. The daughter was a strict vegan. The mother, who was widowed, lived with her daughter and was dependent on her. The daughter provided the mother with the same * Acute Geriatric Department, Herzog Hospital, ** Law Faculty Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel 279

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