Advance Directives and Alzheimer's Disease. Issue 3 (September 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Davis, Deena S.
• Other Names: Wilson Robin Fretwell guest-editor.; Shepherd Lois guest-editor.; Sade Robert M. guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Journal of law, medicine & ethics. Volume 46:Issue 3(2018)
• Page Start: 744
• Page End: 748
• Publication Date: 2018-09
• Subjects: Medical laws and legislation -- United States -- Periodicals; Medical care -- Law and legislation -- United States -- Periodicals; Medical ethics -- Periodicals; Jurisprudence -- Periodicals; Legislation, Medical -- Periodicals; Legislation, Nursing -- Periodicals; Ethics -- Periodicals; Forensic Medicine -- Periodicals; Nursing -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Periodicals; Societies -- Periodicals; Medical care -- Law and legislation; Medical ethics; Medical laws and legislation; United States; Periodicals; 344.73041
• DOI: 10.1177/1073110518804235
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1073-1105

Abstract

Americans who are afraid of living for many years with Alzheimer's might seek a way to end their lives early, when their dementia has just entered the moderate phase. There is no legal process for doing so. In this paper I argue that advance directives, in particular, are not a legal solution for those who prefer to die rather than suffer years of dementia. The problem is that an advance directive only works to hasten death when there is a life-threatening illness for which one can refuse treatment; more often than not, Alzheimer's kills the self long before it kills the body.