Advance Medical Directives (Living Wills)
DOMNERN GARDEN, J.D. (HARVARD), MEMBER OF THE THAI BAR*
Affiliation : * Neoplace 92/2 Patanakam Road 40, Bangkok I 0250, Thailand.
The 30 year old term "living wiU"(l) means an instruction or directive concerning medical care written in advance to be used when the declarant is so ill as to be unable to communicate. It is usually accompanied by a power of attorney in favor of a person entrusted to make decisions concerning treatment on behalf of the declarant(2). The person may be a spouse, son or daughter, close friend or trusted attorney. In most states of the United States forms are readily available which inform the pros- pective patient what the choices are and what kind of situations should be covered depending on their wishes. The Advance Directive in English appearing at the end of this article was actually used in New Jersey earlier this year to cause the removal of life- support systems from a brain-damaged 71 year old woman. The short form in Thai, which also appears, is on file in two hospitals where the declarant expects he may be taken in case of severe disability.
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