Article Sidebar

Download
Download Article

Main Article Content

Abstract

This paper examines the legal and bioethical implications of Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) decisions made by physicians in Indonesia, using a juridical and literature analysis approach. DNR decisions, which involve withholding or discontinuing life-sustaining treatment, are complex and fraught with legal, ethical, and cultural challenges. In Indonesia, the lack of explicit legal guidance regarding DNR creates significant ambiguity for healthcare professionals. This paper examines the relationship between the legal framework, medical ethics, and cultural influences that shape these decisions. It highlights the role of autonomy, beneficence, impartiality, and justice in ethical considerations surrounding DNR. Furthermore, it considers the influence of Indonesia's largely religious and collectivist culture, which often places family decisions above patient autonomy. Through a literature review and legal analysis, this paper suggests the need for clearer guidelines and greater protections for healthcare providers involved in DNR decisions. It also proposes enhanced bioethics education for medical professionals and increased public awareness of patient rights in end-of-life care.

Keywords

Do Not Resuscitate Bioethics Medical Law Physician Decision Making

Article Details

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

How to Cite
Sarana, H., Sutarno , S., & Prasetyo, B. (2025). Legal and Bioethical Implications of Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) by Doctors in Indonesia. Golden Ratio of Law and Social Policy Review, 4(2), 148–156. https://doi.org/10.52970/grlspr.v4i2.1337
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
BibTeX

References

  1. Akhtar, M. U., Bhatti, M. E., & Fredericks, S. (2024). What factors influence patient autonomy in healthcare decision-making? A systematic review of studies from the Global South. Nursing Ethics, 09697330241272794.
  2. Aksoy, E., & Ilkilic, I. (2024). Medical utility at the end of life: the first qualitative study of ethical decision-making methods among Turkish doctors. BMC Medical Ethics, 25(1), 122.
  3. Alao, D.O., Abraham, S., Dababneh, E., Roby, R., Farid, M., Mohammed, N., Rojas-Perilla, N., & Cevik, A.A. (2024). Do-not-attempt-resuscitation decision making: physicians' recommendations differ from the GO-FAR score predictions. International Journal of Emergency Medicine, 17(1), 86.
  4. Alias, F., Martina, D., Susila, ME, & Anggriawan, R. (2024). Preserving patient autonomy at the end of life: A legal appraisal of the position of advanced medical directives in Malaysia and Indonesia. Malaysian Journal of Sharia and Law, 12(2), 296–310.
  5. Alshawaf, AH, Alghamdi, AS, Shaikh, AA, Kabli, MF, Binobaid, AO, & Alshabib, ZA (2024). Ethical Considerations in End-of-Life Decision Making: Balancing Autonomy and Beneficence. Methodology, 2(3), 5.
  6. Anggra, P. (2024). The Urgency of Legal Regulation for Do Not Resuscitate Orders in the Indonesian Healthcare System: A Comparative Study with the United Kingdom. Journal of Law, Politics and Humanities, 5(1), 592–600.
  7. Bhatti, M. O., Hamza, A., & Eman, N. U. (2025). Withholding diagnostic and prognostic information from patients in Pakistan: ethical and cultural perspectives. JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 75(2), 358.
  8. Coulden, A., & Cairns, H. (2024). Do early DNACPR decisions prevent inappropriate CPR attempts. Resuscitation, 195.
  9. de Pediatría, S.A., & Subcomisiones, C. (2024). Entre el paternalismo médico y la autonomia de los pacientes: 25 siglos de historia. Arch Argent Pediatr, e202310297.
  10. Desdiani, D., Mulatsih, S., & Puspandari, DA (2024). Implementation of Respect for Autonomy in Hospital Services Within the Indonesia National Health Insurance System. National Journal of Community Medicine, 15(10), 830–841.
  11. Farnesty, E., Sari, FRS, Dzaky, R., Septia, RB, Alayya, SM, & Adinda, VK (2024). Legal professional ethics: Revealing violations of the code of ethics in lawyer bribery cases. Journal of Law, Education, and Social Humanities, 105.
  12. Fazail, IP (2024). Key Characteristics of Autonomy, Confidentiality, Beneficence, Non-maleficence, Justice and Privacy principles in Medical Law within the Context of Human Rights.
  13. Herington, J., Shand, J., Holden-Wiltse, J., Corbett, A., Dees, R., Ching, C.-L., Shaw, M., Cai, X., & Zand, M. (2024). Investigating Ethical Tradeoffs in Crisis Standards of Care through Simulation of Ventilator Allocation Protocols. MedRxiv.
  14. Kusuma, AS, Wiryanto, FS, & Widodo, P. (2024). Analysis of the Rapid Response Action Controversy Based on the Maqashid Syariah Perspective. Indonesian Journal: Informatics and Communication Management, 5(3), 2484–2495.
  15. Larasati, T., Fardiansyah, AI, Saketi, D., & Dewiarti, AN (2024). The Ethical and Legal Aspects of Health Policy on Electronic Medical Records in Indonesia. Cepalo, 8(2), 103–112.
  16. Lee, H.-R. (2023). Factors Influencing DNR(Do-Not-Resuscitate) Decisions in General Adults. Korean Association For Learner-Centered Curriculum And Instruction. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:264064260
  17. Naito, H., Sakuraya, M., Hongo, T., Takada, H., Yumoto, T., Yorifuji, T., Hifumi, T., Inoue, A., Sakamoto, T., & Kuroda, Y. (2023). Prevalence, reasons, and timing of decisions to withhold/withdraw life-sustaining therapy for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients with extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Critical Care, 27(1), 252.
  18. Nuraeni, R., Tampubolon, MT, Atmoro, A., Habib, H., & Handono, T. (2024). Same-Sex Marriage: A Review of Rights and Obligations Under the Marriage Law. Jurnal Syntax Admiration, 5(10), 4207–4218.
  19. Putra, YRP, & Hufron, H. (2024). Legal Responsibilities of Doctors in Terminating Life Assistance Therapy for Terminal Patients. Activa Juris: Jurnal Hukum, 4(2).
  20. Ramadianto, AY, & Imaniyati, NS (2024). Legal Certainty of Patients' Right to Autonomy Protection in High-Risk Health Services. 2(03), 269–278.
  21. Sagala, R., Agustina, HR, & Pahria, T. (2022). Decision-making regarding do-not-resuscitate end-of-life patients from a family perspective. HEALTH SCIENCE MEDIA. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:264576945
  22. Sanjaya, G. (2024). LEGAL REVIEW OF DOCTORS IN IMPLEMENTING DO NOT RESUSCITATE (DNR) DUE TO LIMITED VENTILATOR DEVICES. Tambusai Health Journal, 5(4), 10485–10500.
  23. Saputra, A., Rahman, NA, & Kurniati, K. (2024). The Death Penalty: The Dilemma Between the Maslahat Mursalah and Human Rights in Indonesia. ALADALAH: Journal of Politics, Social, Law and Humanities, 2(4), 148–159.
  24. Shah, K., Neshatvar, Y., Shum, E., & Nayan, M. (2024). Optimizing the fairness of survival prediction models for racial/ethnic subgroups: A study on predicting post-operative survival in stage IA and IB non-small cell lung cancer. American Society of Clinical Oncology.
  25. Susanti, A., Paramitasari, KC, Putra, KAD, Cintariasih, P., Suryani, NW, & Wulandari, IAP (2024). Ethical Dilemma of Do Not Resuscitation (DNR) in Nursing Practice. Babali Nursing Research, 5(2), 370–385.
  26. Toy, S. M., Ndoen, E. M., & Ndun, H. J. N. (2024). Traditional beliefs and practices of postpartum care in rural East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. International Journal of Public Health Science (IJPHS), 13(4), 1783. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijphs.v13i4.24294
  27. Wijilestari, MI, Suharso, YL, & Nugroho, HP (2022). Description of Factors Influencing Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Decisions and Their Legal Consequences. Soepra Journal of Health Law, 8(2), 164–176.
  28. Yu, S.-Y., Lee, Y., Shin, S. J., Woo, G., Kim, D., Kwon, J. H., & Suh, E. E. (2024). Navigating Shared Decision-Making after the Life-Sustaining Treatment Decision Act: A Qualitative Study by In-Depth Interviews with Terminal Cancer Patients, Families, and Healthcare Professionals.