Michigan in Need of New Legislation for the Legally Incapacitated

Nicole E. Bergeron (J.D. 2006, Thomas M. Cooley Law School), has recently published her article entitled Resuscitating Elderly Wards in Michigan: Should a Legal Guardian Be Allowed To Execute a “Do-Not-Resuscitate” Order on a Legally Incapacitated Individual’s Behalf?, 9 T.M. Cooley J. Prac. & Clinical L. 257 (2007).

Here is the conclusion to her article:

Michigan’s legally incapacitated are in desperate need of legislation designed to protect them from the implementation of overly aggressive resuscitative procedures. Legislation should focus on the drafting of new procedural laws that are designed to adequately protect a legally incapacitated individual’s right to refuse unwanted and overly aggressive medical treatment. As a model for reform, the legislature should look to California’s Due Process in Competence Determinations Act. Using the procedural protections outlined in this act as a framework, the legislature should be able to draft legislation that adequately preserves an individual’s right to refuse unwanted medical treatment. Legislation should also focus on reforming current guardianship laws so that the rights of family members and relatives are given adequate priority and protection. Given proper reform, legislation should further seek to allow for the signing of DNR’s by guardians who are specifically authorized by the court to deal with the ward’s end-of-life concerns. This goal can be accomplished by expanding the scope of Michigan’s Do Not Resuscitate Procedures Act, and proposing legislation designed to uniformly regulate the implementation of DNR’s in both traditional and non-traditional health care settings.