Friday, March 25, 2005

Some good from this?

The legal and ethical struggle over Terri Schiavo is the third prominent right-to-die case in the last thirty years. Nancy Cruzan died in 1990 in Mount Vernon, Missouri after her feeding tube was removed. She had been injured in a car accident in 1983. Karen Ann Quinlan died in 1985 after slipping into a coma at a party in New Jersey.

Each of these three women was under the age of thirty when incapacitated.

If there is anything good to come from these tragedies, it might be the attention brought to the value of planning for unexpected incapacity. Talk to your family and friends about your wishes and write them down.

Download forms for Advance Medical Directives, Living Wills and Medical Powers of Attorney.

Most states will require the signatures of two witnesses or a notary on these documents. Get your family and friends together for a big old' signing party.

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