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Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Ind. Law - Indiana not immune to life-or-death battle

"Indiana not immune to life-or-death battle" is the headline to this story today in the Indianapolis Star. It begins:

Hospitals in the Indianapolis area all have policies to help families avoid gut-wrenching fights similar to the Terri Schiavo case in Florida, but officials say the very same thing could happen here.

"What would we do if we faced that?" asked Steven Ivy, senior vice president for values, ethics and pastoral services at Clarian Health. " 'I don't know' is the honest answer."

Medical professionals can only urge people to make their wishes clear, in writing or otherwise, he said. While that doesn't guarantee disputes will be avoided, it's the best first step.

A case like Schiavo's could end up in the courts in Indiana if hospitals' efforts at guiding and assisting families fail and if family members are irreconcilably split on what to do, local hospital officials agreed.

Indiana law doesn't designate the relative who can offer "substitute judgment" on health care decisions for a person who becomes incapacitated. The law lists "parent, spouse, adult child or adult sibling" without assigning any priority.

Because those relatives are not ranked, said Dr. Gregory P. Gramelspacher, an associate professor at Indiana University School of Medicine, it wouldn't automatically be clear who could make the final decision in case of disagreement.

The story includes a useful sidebar of local hospitals' policies.

[Thanks to Kemplog, as I had totally missed this story about Indiana law.]

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 22, 2005 04:31 PM
Posted to Indiana Law