The Ethics Committee* of the Society of Critical Care Medicine.The Writing Panel that participated in the writing of this consensus document includes: Marion Danis, MD; Robert Truog, MD; Michael Devita, MD; Forcht Dagi, MD, FCCM; Tristam Englehardt, Jr, PhD, MD; Ake Grenvik, MD, FCCM; Paul Hofmann, DrPH; Bemard Lo, MD; Joanne Lynn, MD; Michael Rie, MD; Stanley Rosenbaum, MD; Charles L. Sprung, MD, JD, FCCM; Daniel Teres, MD, FCCM; Thomas E. Wallace, MD, JD, FCCM.*See the Appendix for a list of the Committee Members during the development of this statement.This consensus statement was reviewed and approved by the Council of the Society of Critical Care Medicine. This consensus statement reflects the official opinion of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and should not be construed to reflect the views of the specialty boards or any other professional medical or nursing organization.Editor's Note: As with previous consensus statements published in this journal, this article has not undergone traditional peer review.Reproduced with permission from the Society of Critical Care Medicine.Address requests for reprints to: Society of Critical Care Medicine, 8101 East Kaiser Boulevard, Suite 300, Anaheim, CA 92808-2259.