The Authority of Families to Make Medical Decisions for Incompetent Patients after theCruzanDecision

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Abstract
I want to approach this difficult topic not from the professional perspective of a lawyer, but rather as the person I am in multiple relationships: wife, mother, step-mother, daughter, and step-daughter. I would suggest to you that none of us can avoid thinking about the role of families in making decisions for incompetent patients without viewing the questions that arise through lenses created by the roles we play in multiple relationships. I would also suggest to you that none of us can avoid thinking about the possibility of becoming incompetent ourselves without thinking about the relationships we have with our families.My remarks here will be addressed primarily to theCruzandecision, so they will be most obviously applicable to patients in a persistent vegetative state. However, I intend for my reflections to apply to decision-making about all incompetent adult patients.

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