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Living Wills: Signing Your Own Death Warrant? A Christian Lawyer’s Perspective
RFFM.org ^ | August 19, 2008 | Stephen Bloom

Posted on 08/19/2008 8:50:45 AM PDT by Daniel T. Zanoza

Editor’s Note: Stephen Bloom is a Christian attorney with more than 20 years experience in private practice. He is a frequent media guest, speaker, and writer on Christianity and the law, a Lecturer in Management and Business at Messiah College, and a Consultant to the United Methodist Stewardship Foundation of Central Pennsylvania. He is a legal columnist for Good News Daily, former host of the "Practical Counsel - Christian Perspective" radio program, and founder of the Estate Planning Council of Cumberland County. Bloom has been actively involved in the leadership of numerous community and ministry organizations, including his church, where he serves as a Certified Lay Speaker. He is a longtime member of the Christian Legal Society.

The signs of confusion are pervasive and troubling. My legal clients ask, “Should I carry my Living Will with me, in case I’m in an accident while traveling?” A major newspaper story laments that “too often” Living Wills aren’t available “when decisions about life support must be made.” Retirement community residents are directed to keep Living Wills taped to their refrigerators, for quick and easy access. Credible stories are told of first responders and emergency room personnel withholding care from patients with Living Wills.

What’s wrong with this picture? ...

(Excerpt) Read more at rffm.typepad.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: christians; deathcultivation; endoflife; euthenasia; healthcare; law; livingwills; moralabsolutes; prematuredeath; prolife; stephenbloom
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1 posted on 08/19/2008 8:50:46 AM PDT by Daniel T. Zanoza
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To: Daniel T. Zanoza

Monty Python “Bring out your dead “.


2 posted on 08/19/2008 8:55:51 AM PDT by kbennkc (For those who have fought for it , freedom has a flavor the protected will never know)
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To: Daniel T. Zanoza
The real trick in life is deciding how much life insurance to have.

You need to have enough that your family will not be destitute if you die.

But it needs to not be so much that you are worth more dead to your family.

3 posted on 08/19/2008 8:57:30 AM PDT by CougarGA7 (Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.)
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To: Daniel T. Zanoza

So just make sure your living will is written correctly. There, fixed it.


4 posted on 08/19/2008 8:59:31 AM PDT by gracesdad
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To: Daniel T. Zanoza

Sorry Danny, Christ didn’t like lawyers much, and neither do I. “Christian” and “attorney” are contradictory, as believers don’t lie without God correcting them, and I don’t see lawyers getting corrected by God...


5 posted on 08/19/2008 9:00:28 AM PDT by Righter-than-Rush
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To: Daniel T. Zanoza

I have the same issues at my firm (we execute about 250 Directives To Physicians a year, in addition to the other estate planning documents). The question most often asked is whether, if they have this document, the Emergency Department at the hospital won’t treat their injuries if they get in a car accident. We explain (ad nauseum, sometimes) that the election clearly doesn’t apply to emergency situations like that. I have considered adding some language to the statutorily suggested form to that effect.

Colonel, USAFR


6 posted on 08/19/2008 9:03:34 AM PDT by jagusafr ("Bugs, Mr. Rico! Zillions of 'em!" - Robert Heinlein)
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To: Righter-than-Rush

Christ didn’t like “the teachers of the law”, who twisted scripture. Scripture says nothing that I can find about civil lawyers, other than to submit ourselves to the governing authorities, which would necessarily mean we can avail ourselves of civil representation. I’m a sold out, born-again believer in my Lord, Jesus Christ, and a lawyer. There is no inherent conflict between the two; in fact, I’ve seen Christian attorney-mediators succeed where all others fail.

Colonel, USAFR


7 posted on 08/19/2008 9:12:04 AM PDT by jagusafr ("Bugs, Mr. Rico! Zillions of 'em!" - Robert Heinlein)
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To: Righter-than-Rush
There is nothing about being a lawyer which requires one to lie. The opposite is true. A lawyer caught lying to a Court or to another lawyer develops a reputation which is not conducive to success in the profession.

As to the article itself, it would be absurd to withhold ER care or roadside care to someone because he/she had a Living Will (Directive to Physicians). The document is quite clear as to when extraordinary health care procedures are to terminate -- and it clearly does not apply to any emergency situation or an accident scene.

8 posted on 08/19/2008 9:45:15 AM PDT by San Jacinto
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To: Daniel T. Zanoza

This smells of a lawyer whose probate earnings have taken a hit in recent years.


9 posted on 08/19/2008 11:09:34 AM PDT by PsyOp (Put government in charge of tire pressure, and we'll soon have a shortage of air. - PsyOp.)
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To: San Jacinto
The document is quite clear as to when extraordinary health care procedures are to terminate -- and it clearly does not apply to any emergency situation or an accident scene.

Yes, the documents are clear. Unfortunately, minds can be fuzzy and many seem to be making their own independent (and incorrect) assumptions about what the documents mean.

10 posted on 08/19/2008 11:10:29 AM PDT by LikeLight (http://www.believersguidetolegalissues.com)
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To: Daniel T. Zanoza

There are solutions to a number of concerns. To the cold-blooded (Hollandesque) scenario for instance, adding safety language to the discretion given to the attending doctor’s is offered here: http://www.pascalfervor.com/Commentary/Deadly_Living_Wills.html


11 posted on 08/19/2008 11:33:28 AM PDT by Avoiding_Sulla (Yesterday's Left = today's status quo. Thus "CONSERVATIVE": a conflicted label for battling tyranny.)
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To: LikeLight
Unfortunately, minds can be fuzzy and many seem to be making their own independent (and incorrect) assumptions about what the documents mean.

I'm sure there are misconceptions among the general public, but I can't believe EMT's and ER personnel are not trained in this simple area.

I'll put it this way-- if some ER Doctor ordered "no resuscitation" because somebody told him the patient had a Living Will, then I would love to handle that lawsuit.

12 posted on 08/19/2008 1:46:46 PM PDT by San Jacinto
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To: San Jacinto

For just a random taste of the serious confusion on the ground among paramedics, sample this posting and the comments on a paramedic blog:

http://urbanparamedic.blogspot.com/2007/12/confusing-mess-that-is-dnr.html


13 posted on 08/19/2008 2:03:45 PM PDT by LikeLight (http://www.believersguidetolegalissues.com)
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To: LikeLight; informavoracious; larose; RJR_fan; Prospero; Conservative Vermont Vet; ...
+

Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:

Add me / Remove me

Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of interest.

14 posted on 08/19/2008 3:52:16 PM PDT by narses (...the spirit of Trent is abroad once more.)
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To: Daniel T. Zanoza; 230FMJ; 50mm; 69ConvertibleFirebird; Aleighanne; Alexander Rubin; ...
Moral Absolutes Ping!

Freepmail wagglebee to subscribe or unsubscribe from the moral absolutes ping list.

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15 posted on 08/19/2008 4:12:08 PM PDT by wagglebee ("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)
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To: Daniel T. Zanoza

Having a living will is an invitation for a hospital or nursing home to neglect you to death.


16 posted on 08/19/2008 4:40:11 PM PDT by TASMANIANRED (TAZ:Untamed, Unpredictable, Uninhibited.)
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To: TASMANIANRED
Having a living will is an invitation for a hospital or nursing home to neglect you to death.

Please...let's not me so narrow minded. That's not the case...and I know it.

17 posted on 08/19/2008 4:44:38 PM PDT by Osage Orange (Congress would steal the nickels off a dead man's eye's...............)
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To: Osage Orange

Me = be


18 posted on 08/19/2008 4:46:59 PM PDT by Osage Orange (Congress would steal the nickels off a dead man's eye's...............)
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To: Osage Orange

Are you on the legal end or the medical end.

Being on the medical end, I’ve seen it happen over and over.

It is swept under the rug but it is very much common knowledge.

Most states in wrongful death or malpractice cases where there is a death base judgments on Years of life and earning potential.

If an elderly person winds up dead through neglect they aren’t worth a dime .

For a lawyer there is more money in a bed sore than in the death of an elderly person.


19 posted on 08/19/2008 5:53:06 PM PDT by TASMANIANRED (TAZ:Untamed, Unpredictable, Uninhibited.)
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To: gracesdad
So just make sure your living will is written correctly.

Unfortunately, it's not that simple. The problem is correctly written living wills being wrongly applied.

20 posted on 08/19/2008 6:54:56 PM PDT by LikeLight (http://www.believersguidetolegalissues.com)
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