Medical treatment for older people and people with disabilities: 1989 developments. National Legal Center Staff.

Pending before the United States Supreme Court are cases involving eligibility of children with disabilities for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits and a guardian's authority to withhold nutrition and hydration from a permanently disabled but not terminally ill ward. The United States Commission on Civil Rights has issued a comprehensive report demonstrating evidence of current discrimination against infants with disabilities and examining current legal protections. In the federal courts, litigation continues in a case brought by parents on behalf of their infants with disabilities who were allegedly denied medical treatment on the basis of disability. State courts continue to examine the rights of competent and incompetent patients to forgo life-sustaining treatment, including nutrition and hydration. Discrimination against persons with AIDS or HIV continues to affect their access to health care. In 1989 forty states and the District of Columbia have "living will" legislation, and nine states have durable power of attorney for health care laws; however, the provisions of each vary from state to state.