Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1983
ISSN
0090-0036
Publisher
American Public Health Association
Language
en-US
Abstract
Although the right to refuse medical treatment is universally recognized as a fundamental principle of liberty, this right is not always honored. A refusal can be thwarted either because a patient is unable to competently communicate or because providers insist on continuing treatment. To help enhance the patient's right to refuse treatment, many states have enacted so-called "living will" or "natural death" statutes. We believe the time has come to move beyond these current legislative models, and we therefore propose a Model Act that clearly enunciates an individual's right to refuse treatment, does not limit its exercise to the terminally ill or to heroic measures, and provides a mechanism by which individuals can set forth their wishes in advance and designate another person to enforce them.
Recommended Citation
George J. Annas,
The Right to Refuse Treatment: A Model Act
,
in
73
American Journal of Public Health
918
(1983).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/1327
