Intensive Care Units (ICUs) deal with people at the edge of life. Here, patients’ rights and families’ emotions collide with medical realities. Questions about “how long to continue aggressive treatment” and Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders are becoming more common.

Patients, where legally permitted and mentally capable, have the right to be informed about their prognosis and treatment options. They may refuse certain interventions or express wishes about resuscitation in case their heart or breathing stops. When patients can’t speak, families and doctors often face agonising choices.

DNR orders do not mean “no treatment”; they usually mean that if the heart stops, doctors will not perform CPR or advanced life support, especially in terminal or hopeless conditions. The aim is to avoid unnecessarily prolonging suffering.

Legal systems are slowly recognising advance directives, living wills, and structured processes for withdrawing life support in strictly regulated conditions. Hospitals are also expected to have ethics committees and documentation protocols.

Open, honest conversations between doctors and families, guided by clear law and ethics, can reduce guilt and conflict. End-of-life care should preserve dignity, not just pulse and blood pressure numbers.