Withholding and withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments in intensive care units in Lebanon: a cross-sectional survey of intensivists and interviews of professional societies, legal and religious leaders

Table 2 The different religious leaders’s affiliations and their positions on euthanasia, withholding and withdrawing (Wh/Wd) life-sustaining treatments and the principle of double effect

Religious Leader		Position
	Euthanasia	Wh/Wd	“Principle of Double Effect”
Catholic	No	Yes Guidelines exist	Yes*
Orthodox	No	Yes No Guidelines	Yes*
Sunni	No	Yes Guidelines exist	Yes*
Shia	No	No	Yes**
Druze	No	No clear position	Preferably No only if unbearable pain

^* “Principle of Double Effect”: alleviation of pain is allowed, even if it unintentionally hastens death;
^** Alleviation of pain is allowed, if it will in no way lead to the patient’s death;

ISSN: 1472-6939