Living Will Compliance — A Law Professor’s Personal Reflections

Prof. Ray D. Madoff of the Boston College Law School, has prepared an essay entitled End of Life Decision Making: Reflections of a Lawyer and a Daughter which is scheduled for publication in Ethical Issues at the End of Life (Michael Smyer and Rachel Pruchno, eds.) (Johns Hopkins Press).

The abstract of his interesting essay as set forth on SSRN is as follows:

This Essay reflects upon accommodating needs of patients and family members facing end-of-life issues both from a legal perspective – as a lawyer and teacher of those lawyers who advise people about how best to express their wishes for their end of life care – and from the perspective of a family member, who has lived the experience of facing end of life decisions of a loved one. Most importantly, the reflections focus on the vast gulf that exists between these two perspectives.