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 A shareholder proxy vote. An absentee election ballot. Wills. There are many ways we let people know what we want when we can't speak for ourselves. It's important to do the same for decisions affecting our health. Planning spares our loved ones the burden of guessing our wishes and tells doctors how to treat us medically when we can't communicate because of illness or injury. "Advance directives" are legal documents that help medical professionals and families respect the wishes of persons in a health crisis. These written instructions shed light on the types of health care decisions you want made on your behalf and they can designate someone close to you as the person responsible for carrying out your health care wishes. When properly completed, advance directives help assure that a person's choices are carried out. 
The Evolution of Advance Directives A Missouri Supreme Court case in the late 1980s sparked a nationwide discussion about a patient's right to refuse medical treatment. It began with an auto accident in 1983. After losing control of her car, 25 year old Nancy Cruzan was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the accident scene by police. Miraculously, paramedics resuscitated her. However, she never regained consciousness and remained in a vegetative state and sustained with a feeding tube. After several years of no improvement in her condition, her parents requested the hospital remove the feeding tube since they knew Nancy would not want to live out her life that way. When the hospital refused to remove the tube, Nancy's parents sought the help of the courts. After a hard-fought legal battle, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled in the Cruzans' favor and Nancy's feeding tube was removed. As a result of the Court's decision, the Patient Self-Determination Act was passed in 1991, and all facilities receiving Medicare were required to inform patients about their right to refuse treatment. The act also required facilities to ask patients if they had prepared an advance directive, living will or durable power of attorney for health care. Although Ohio has accepted advance directives for more than 10 years, many Ohioans still don't know they have the right and the means to make their desires known and enforced. Through the Light the Way campaign, the Ohio State Bar Foundation and its 2002 Fellows Class is spreading the message about the importance of thinking about and communicating end-of-life care wishes.  |
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