Do you need a living will? What happens if your loved ones do not want to abide by your wishes should you find yourself in a terminal state? Professor Kurt Olson explains both the history and the benefits of drafting a living will in this episode of The Massachusetts School of Law’s A Point of Law.

 
Educational Video from The Massachusetts School of Law.

The following is a rough transcript of the above video, “A Living Will, Do You Need One?”.  It was downloaded via YouTube’s machine transcription.

because of the highly-publicized karen quinlan
case in new jersey in nineteen seventy five
the public and lawmakers have paid more attention
to whether a person may refuse life prolonging
medical treatment
when the person is suffering from a terminal
injury or illness without hope of recovery
lawmakers have responded to public concern
by enacting statutes which permit persons
to make so-called living wills
a living will is a document by which a person
makes known his or her desire
and direction
that medical professionals do not use measures
to prolong his or her life
in circumstances where
they cannot hope to recover
federal courts and most state courts have
interpreted their constitutions to recognize
a constitutional right of privacy
to be free from unwarranted governmental
intrusion into matters affecting a person’s
fundamental rights
courts of extended this right of privacy even
in the absence of statute
to allow a competent adult to refuse medical
treatment that may prolong his or her life
specifically the florida supreme court has
ruled
in the absence of any statutory authorization
that the relatives of an incompetent and terminally
ill patient could halt
extraordinary medical treatment
even without first getting court approval
the court gave considerable weight to the
patient’s quote
mercy will and last testament
unquote
in which he expressed a desire not to be kept
alive on a respirator or other life-support
equipment
the patient had executed this statement almost
six years before he entered the hospital
but while he was still competent
the karen quinlan case stirred the concerns
and imaginations of the public
quinlan was a twenty-one year old woman who
had stopped breathing for two fifteen minute
periods
apparently because of drug
and or alcohol abuse
she fell into a deep coma and was attached
to a medical apparatus which maintained her
bodily functions and kept her alive
in a new jersey hospital
it was clear that although technically alive
and not brain dead the evidence suggested
that she was in a persistent vegetative state
and would never again function as a thinking
human being
it was also clear
that if her respirator were removed she would
die soon thereafter
her father a devout catholic sought guidance
from the church
the church advised him that discontinuing
the respirator would be a quote morally correct
decision
he then sought to be appointed guardian of
his daughter so he could order the hospital
to terminate use of the respirator
although the state of new jersey opposed his
request and the lower courts had ruled against
him
the new jersey supreme court reversed the lower
courts and upheld mr quinlan’s right to act on
behalf of his daughter and remove the life
support
the first legislation passed was in california
which enacted the california natural death
act in nineteen seventy six
since that landmark california law more than
twenty states have passed laws on the subject
because of the significant variation in these
laws the natural national conference of commissioners
on uniform state laws has passed a uniform
act entitled the quote
rights of the terminally ill act end quote
which has been enacted in more than half a dozen
states the act contains a suggested declaration
directing a doctor to withhold or withdraw
life-sustaining procedures
if a person is quote
in an incurable and irreversible condition that
will result in death within a relatively short
time end quote
the act specifically provides that it should not
be construed to condone authorize or approve
mercy killing or euthanasia
this latter provision is designed to counter
the objections of many who argue that proponents
of living wills advocate mercy killing or
euthanasia
so you need a living will if you want to be the
one who controls decisions about ending your
life
if you are ever unfortunate enough to wind
up in a terminally ill state
while your state might have provisions for
ending life support even in the absence of
a living will you should strongly consider
drafting one or having a lawyer draft one
for you to ensure your ability to control
these decisions
thank you very much
have a nice afternoon