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    The category 'terminal illness' is historically contingen... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→Terminal illness cannot be cured by even the most skilled doctor.

    The category 'terminal illness' is historically contingent: conditions once deemed fatal (e.g., certain cancers, HIV) became treatable through medical advance.

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    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Medical definitions of disease prognosis depend on current treatment capacity, which varies across time and context, not fixed biological facts.
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    • 2.Historical evidence shows categories like 'incurable' applied to tuberculosis, diabetes, and leukemia were later invalidated by therapeutic breakthroughs.
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    • 3.If a condition becomes treatable, retrospectively calling it 'terminal' reflects outdated knowledge, suggesting the category tracked human capability, not essence.
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    Reasons Against

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    • 1.'Terminal' denotes prognosis absent intervention, not absolute biological state. That prognosis can change doesn't make the category contingent—only applications of it.
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    • 2.Some conditions remain fatal despite medical advances (e.g., pancreatic cancer, ALS). Their persistent terminality under current care suggests non-contingent features.
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    • 3.Distinguishing between what's treatable and what's not serves essential clinical and ethical functions regardless of historical shifts in specific diagnoses.
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    Related

    'Terminal' denotes prognosis absent intervention, not absolute biological state....Distinguishing between what's treatable and what's not serves essential clinical...Historical evidence shows categories like 'incurable' applied to tuberculosis, d...If a condition becomes treatable, retrospectively calling it 'terminal' reflects...
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    Medical definitions of disease prognosis depend on current treatment capacity, w...Some conditions remain fatal despite medical advances (e.g., pancreatic cancer, ...Terminal illness cannot be cured by even the most skilled doctor.

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