Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41004030›Full record

ArticleMedicine, health care, and philosophy2025

End-of-life decisions and ethics on the big screen: reflecting narratives of 'a life fully lived'.

Franziska Wagensonner, Antonia Sahm, Andreas Frewer

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Medicine, health care, and philosophy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Franziska WagensonnerProfessorship for Medical Ethics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany. franziska.wagensonner@fau.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-1842-6040
Antonia SahmProfessorship for Medical Ethics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-8354-3060
Andreas FrewerProfessorship for Medical Ethics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The question of what constitutes a good life, whether a human existence is considered fulfilling and how to respond to a life perceived as no longer worth living has long been one of the great inquiries of medical ethics. With the increasing liberalization of various forms of assisted dying worldwide, these fundamental questions are gaining renewed relevance. An emerging field of interest explores films as sociocultural laboratories, offering an intriguing approach to a more nuanced perspective on personal narratives. Applied to the subject of end-of-life decisions this practice turns abstract constructs such as the quest for a meaningful life into tangible plotlines and vivid case studies. Far more than conceptual discussions about morally right or wrong, the storyline on screen enables the viewer to gain a deep and unique insight into the personal life and contextual embeddedness of protagonists struggling with end-of-life decisions. This paper aims to explore the idea and narrative of 'a life fully lived' in the movies focussing on end-of-life decisions. It focuses on the implications, demands, and influences on choices concerning death and dying using the example of ten of the most impactful and most debated movies featuring end-of-life decisions. Using film analysis, commonly held assumptions and value judgments that influence public discourse about end-of-life decisions are to be revealed and made accessible for ethical reflection.

Indexed as

Decision MakingMotion PicturesTerminal CareHumansNarrationAgeAssisted dyingBioethicsEnd-of-lifeEuthanasiaFilm

Identifiers

PMID41004030
PMCPMC12583404

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.