Terri's legacy in living wills

2005-04-01 19:15

Paris - Requests for a "living will," which instructs doctors about whether to pursue life-prolonging treatment if a brain-damaged or dying patient is unable to communicate his wishes, have surged as a result of the Terri Schiavo case, sources said Friday.

A British organisation that promotes the living will said it had received "about 100 requests" for downloads of the document from its website this week, or about twice the normal demand.

It said it had also received about 120 phone calls asking about living wills, also roughly twice the normal weekly number.

"We believe that this is in response to the Terri Schiavo case," a spokesperson said for the Voluntary Euthanasia Society (VES) said by phone from London.

The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents British doctors, added that it had had "a significant number of calls" from the public asking about living wills.

The living will is a document signed by a conscious adult that informs doctors whether to pursue or stop life-sustaining treatment if that individual is terminally sick or brain damaged, cannot live without artificial support and also is permanently unconscious or unable to communicate.

Schiavo, 41, died on Thursday after being artificially kept alive for 15 years following heart failure that inflicted permanent brain damage and left her in a persistent vegetative state.

More than 20 court cases and state legislature hearings unfolded over seven years as to whether her artificial lifeline should have been cut.

- AFP