Have you talked to your family about donating your organs after death?
Would you know whether to take your parents off of life support if they were brain dead from an accident or stroke?
You’re never too young to think about death or dying, according to Bruce Jennings, an expert on bioethical issues at Yale Medical School. Jennings spoke to a crowd of about 20 students and faculty members Thursday afternoon at The University of Memphis Law School.
The lecture entitled, “Law at the End of Life: From Feeding Tubes to Physician Assisted Suicide,” outlined the history of America’s court rulings concerning cessation of life support and the responsibility for making important medical decisions, such as turning off life-sustaining machines. The lecture also dealt with the idea that euthanasia may be on its way to American public policy.
Jennings pointed to many cases where patients who are incapacitated—unable to tell the doctor what medical treatments they want —could be terminated.
“It’s not easy to do because it requires people to think ahead about their own deaths,” Jennings said. “Naming another person who will make medical decisions for you and putting it in writing will eliminate the problem.”
Naming a surrogate decision maker requires talking to that person about what medical actions the person would want taken if needed.
“All patients have the right to refuse life sustaining treatment and if they have lost their decision-making capabilities, they have the right to delegate that responsibility to someone of their choosing,” Jennings said.
Every state has passed laws allowing patients to name a surrogate decision maker in the event of a serious accident, according to Jennings.
He said a written advance directive is the best way to ensure the patient’s wishes are followed and it is indisputable because it provides “clear and convincing evidence” of that patient’s intent.
The issue of deciding a person’s fate, assuming there is no brain activity, is what Jennings called the “slippery slope” leading to possible physician assisted suicide or euthanasia.
If there are personal privacy issues, all medical treatments can be considered invasive.
This has caused some people to think those allowed to die of their own accord when unconscious should also be granted assistance in dying if desired while still functioning, according to Jennings.
“The Netherlands has already decriminalized euthanasia and even legalized it,” Jennings said.
In the United States, Oregon has legalized physician assisted suicide, but only when specific criteria are met. The patient’s lifespan must be estimated at six months or less due to a terminal illness and have made repeated requests for the lethal prescription.
The difference between euthanasia and physician assisted suicide is that the doctor only provides the means of suicide in physician assisted suicide and they actually perform the procedure in euthanasia.
Jennings said that discussing the possibility of death with a family member and telling your lawyer about your wishes is the best way to deal with any potential future medical decisions. However, the issue of whether cessation of life support may lead to euthanasia has not yet been determined.
