Cope MP campaigns for bill to protect rights of terminally ill patients
Cope MP Deidre Carter and Dignity SA are campaigning to make it easier for doctors and family members to follow through on the wishes of terminally ill patients. Carter announced on Monday that she intended to introduce a private member’s bill in parliament that aims to clarify the legal status of advance healthcare directives, which she said were not adequately dealt with in the National Health Act. The lack of legal clarity meant patients were sometimes subjected to treatments and procedures they had explicitly said they did not want, because medical personnel feared prosecution or family members were in conflict. Advance healthcare directives set out the actions that should be taken for a person’s future medical care if they can no longer make decisions for themselves, and take two forms; a "living will" which may include instructions such as "do not resuscitate" ; and a "durable power of attorney for healthcare" which gives someone else the power to make healthcare decisions on ...
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