Pro-life fanatics, like me, are saddened when people actually put in writing in a Living Will that they don't want food and water, but we accept that decision. But what happens, when a person who has a Living Will, changes their mind after they are injured. Will anyone listen to them?
I guess you would hope people would think hard before putting something like that down in writing that they would not want to be kept alive in such a state. Meaning, they would no they could not change their mind if such would occur. Thanks for the post
"when a person who has a Living Will, changes their mind after they are injured. Will anyone listen to them?"
my mother-in-law was in a deep coma for 6 weeks before she died. Long story why, but bottom line was she was deprived of oxygen for too long and all brain activity left was to regulate involuntary functions like breathing. She DID have a valid living will, and even tho she was on a respirator for a while in the beginning, despite the living will it took more than a couple of weeks to turn the respirator off. THat was when she kept breathing on her own. I don't know if this is peculiar to NJ or not but I don't know how long it would have dragged on were it not for the living will at any rate.
Terri's case is different, I believe than my mother-in-law's. If my mother-in-law had alertness and responsiveness that Terri appears to have, we would all have been of quite a different mind. Terri's quality of life would be greatly enhanced if she were entrusted to her loving family, rather than in the hands of a dubious so-called "spouse" who would benefit greatly if she were out of the picture.