Sole clinical ethicist always has full plate

Koichiro Itai runs a 'cafe' in a Miyazaki Prefecture hospital whose main dish is anything but ordinary: ethics.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2006/nn20060808f1a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='188'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Ethicist Koichiro Itai –

speaks with hospital staff at his Kissa Rinri (Ethics Cafe) at Miyazakihigashi National Hospital in late June. TOMOKO OTAKE PHOTO

Clad in blue apron, he actually does serve customers. But they are by and large medical professionals who seek his counsel on life and death issues, ranging from whether to switch off the artificial respirator of a baby with no chance to recover, to dealing with a family who wants their mother, in a vegetative state, kept alive so they can continue to receive her pension income.