Blog Post Two
Legal Lines ©
LIFE SUSTAINING MEDICAL TREATMENT - DECIDING WHEN TO WITHDRAW /WITHHOLD
by G. Bruce Ward, Esq.
Families, medical providers and legal practitioners remain engaged in an often difficult dilemma to determine when it is proper, if at all, to withdraw medical treatment to an individual thought to have no reasonable chance of recovery. The reader should note that this issue is not akin to the controversies involving Dr. Jack Kevorkian since he is apparently summoned to assist in suicide procedures by employing a death inducing device.
New Jersey’s experience with the Life Sustaining Medical Treatment (LSMT) issue became illuminated during the late 1970s with the Karen Ann Quinlan case. Ms. Quinlan was determined to be hopelessly comatose yet she was being kept alive indefinitely through intravenous feedings and a respirator. This was an example of how medical technology had advanced far ahead of the social, ethical and legal questions which would arise. Even though the Quinlans had no hope for their daughter’s recovery, who would actually disconnect the respirator? Her Doctor? Her Parents? Her Minister?
In a landmark decision, the New Jersey Supreme Court recognized the right of Ms. Quinlan’s parents to disconnect the respirator and thereafter took a leadership role in the State to establish guidelines for LSMT.
Through a series of Court decisions, Health Care Study Commissions and other planning efforts of the Legislature, New Jersey adopted the Advanced Directives for Health Care Act, (NJADHCA) which essentially recognizes the
right of competent adults to control decisions about their own health care. NJADHCA in principle permits a competent individual to decline medical treatment however, such a right is not absolute. To err in either way – to keep a person alive when he would rather have been allowed to die, or to allow that person to die when he would have chosen to cling to life remains the central issue in each complex case. Many can imagine the struggle to determine whether an elderly relative is competent to make a reasoned and informed decision such as LSMT.
At the core of the “Act” is the Advanced Directives portion which is in effect the “Living Will” provision. This is a legally recognized statement concerning an individual’s health care preferences should they become incapacitated in the future. By making such wishes known, the person who will assume primary responsibility for your care (your proxy or designated health care representative) will be able to speak with your physician on your behalf in the event an illness or injury prevents you from speaking for yourself.
In cases where further medical intervention is likely to be futile, likely to prolong an imminent dying process, or where the patient is permanently unconscious, the physician is often placed in a difficult position, as are members of the patient’s family if the patient’s advanced directives have not been clearly established.
Legal Lines © is presented as a public service of the Law Firm of G. Bruce Ward. This article does not constitute legal advice or a legal opinion. G. Bruce Ward maintains offices in Atlantic City and can be reached at 609.449-0061. Readers are urged to consult with their attorney on specific legal questions they may have.
