bio ethics PHI324

(Discussion question)

A recent effort to give people some control of treatment decisions at the end of life is "Five Wishes." It is a living will tool that talks about personal, emotional and spiritual needs as well as medical treatment wishes. After reading this tool and the material of this module, what insights have you gained about the importance and value of advance directives? Would you consider using such a format for your own important health care planning? Why or why not?

Practical Decision Making in Health Care Ethics: Cases and Concepts, Chapters 4 and 5, pp. 70-120

(Guiding thoughts.)

The most celebrated case of withdrawing a patient from hydration and nutrition, until the Terri Schiavo case (Devettere p. 221-227), was the case of Nancy Cruzan. Her case went to the Supreme Court. In 1990, it ruled "that Missouri's insistence on clear and convincing evidence before a proxy could have a feeding tube removed was not so strict that it violated the Constitution. It also noted that no clear and convincing evidence is yet found in the case. In effect, the court ruled that medical nutrition and hydration could not be withdrawn" (Devettere 297). The family returned to the Missouri court of judge Teel. He upheld his original decision to withdraw treatment, but this time, based upon what he judged as clear and convincing evidence of new witnesses.

 

This short review of these important precedent-setting cases should lead one to recognize the value of having advance directive which includes the power of attorney.