Rouse F
Med Staff Couns. 1987 Fall;1(2):35-44.
Living wills and other advance directives for the refusal of medical treatment by patients no longer able to make their own medical decisions have gained increasing acceptance in the last decade. In addition to constitutional and common law rights to refuse treatment, living will statutes have been enacted in many states to permit advance directives under specified circumstances. This article explores both statutory and non-statutory advance directives and offers guidelines for hospitals and medical staffs when decisions regarding life-sustaining treatment must be made for adults with terminal or irreversible illnesses.
在过去十年中，对于那些无法自行做出医疗决定的患者而言，生前遗嘱及其他拒绝医疗的预先指示越来越被人们所接受。除了宪法和普通法赋予的拒绝治疗的权利外，许多州还制定了生前遗嘱法规，允许在特定情况下设立预先指示。本文探讨了法定和非法定的预先指示，并为医院和医务人员在必须为患有晚期或不可逆转疾病的成年人做出维持生命治疗的决定时提供指导方针。
