The Criminal Responsibility of the Doctor for the (DNR) Order in UAE Legislation

Ayman Nawwaf Alhawawsheh1

Abstract
Numerous times, TV medical dramas show a patient in cardiac arrest getting cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), coming back to life, and being back to their old self in no time. In fact, being resuscitated is not so simple and can be dangerous in its own right. Given that, in many cases, the risks of pain and harm from CPR outweigh the benefits, it comes as no surprise that a growing number of people issue a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order as part of their advance care plan to prevent CPR attempts on them should their heart or breathing stop. This legal
document illustrates their aversion to euthanasia. For many, the idea of being kept alive via artificial means, such as life support, is more appalling than death itself. This study focuses on the concept of dying and the legal repercussions of a medical doctor (MD)’s refusal to perform CPR without the patient’s consent, thus, allowing, the patient’s natural death to occur. What ought the MDs do and ask in a situation like this so as to avoid criminal responsibility? The result of this study is that deciding about DNR orders is a difficult process that can be affected by various factors. However, few legislations have codified the criminal responsibility of the
doctor, as the UAE legislator did in Federal Decree-Law No. (4) of 2016 regarding Medical Liability.

Keywords: Doctor, DNR Order, CPR, Legal and Criminal Responsibility, euthanasia