Categories
Advance directives Assisted suicide Death and dying Euthanasia

Physicians’ Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatments

For those interested in end-of-life issues and euthanasia, Christian Brugger has an important new post on the Culture of Life blog regarding Physicians’ Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatments. His post is entitled “Legalizing Euthanasia by Omission – And Making It a Doctor’s Order .” Dr. Brugger identifies the primary issue surrounding such documents as: “POLST-type legislation removes the condition that a patient is terminally ill or diagnosed in a PVS before a refusal order is actionable. In other words, the new law permits any adult patient to refuse any treatment at any time for any reason in the event they lack decisional capacity; and health care professionals, directed by a doctor’s medical order, ordinarily would be (and are) required to carry out the order.”

Dr. Bruggers’ post is a valuable contribution to public knowledge about the state of medical practice regarding end-of-life care.

Teresa Collett

Teresa Stanton Collett is a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she teaches bioethics, property law, and constitutional law. A nationally prominent speaker and scholar, she is active in attempts to rebuild the Culture of Life and protect the institutions of marriage and family. She often represents groups of state legislators, the Catholic Medical Association, and the Christian Medical and Dental Association in appellate case related to medical-legal matters. She represented the governors of Minnesota and North Dakota before the U.S. Supreme Court as amici curiae regarding the effectiveness of those states’ parental involvement laws. She has served as special attorney general for Oklahoma and Kansas related to legislation designed to protect the well-being of minors and unborn children. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute and has testified before committees of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittees on the Constitution, as well as numerous legislative committees in the states.