Adam's Apple
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- Apr 25, 2004
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Case Has Increased Interest in Living Wills
By Vickie Chachere, Associated Press
March 21, 2005
TAMPA, Fla. -- Terri Schiavo didn't have a living will. But because of her, thousands of other Americans won't make that mistake.
Attorneys and organizations that promote living wills and advance directives say the bitter legal battle over the severely brain-damaged woman has led many people to put their end-of-life wishes in writing.
At attorney Christopher Likens' office in Sarasota, clients invariably bring up Terri Schiavo as they put their affairs in order.
"Almost universally, it's 'That poor girl. I don't ever want that to happen to me,' " Likens said. "People are much more informed about the issue."
Most American adults -- estimates are as high as 75 percent -- do not have written directives for their families to follow.
Schiavo did not, and her fate has been debated in court for years as she lies in her hospice bed. Her feeding tube was removed Friday, but Congress worked through the weekend on a compromise to reinsert it, as has been done twice before.
"I think everyone can agree this is not the way the decision should be made," said Paul Malley, president of Aging with Dignity, a Tallahassee-based agency that created the living will known as "Five Wishes."
Orders for the will have been pouring in as the Schiavo case again grabs headlines worldwide. The group is sending out more than 2,000 living wills a day, with many people requesting multiple copies to distribute to family members.
Aging with Dignity estimates requests for its advanced directives are up tenfold because of the Schiavo case. In October 2003, when the case became an international sensation, on some days orders for living wills were pouring in at a rate of 200 an hour. The group has distributed 1 million copies of its living will since then.
"We get requests saying, 'We have seen what happened in the Schiavo case and above all, we don't want to see that same tragedy repeat itself in our family,' " Malley said.
Terri Schiavo was just 26 when her heart stopped because of a chemical imbalance believed to have been brought on by an eating disorder, leaving her severely brain-damaged for the past 15 years.
http://www.indystar.com/articles/5/230816-2905-010.html
By Vickie Chachere, Associated Press
March 21, 2005
TAMPA, Fla. -- Terri Schiavo didn't have a living will. But because of her, thousands of other Americans won't make that mistake.
Attorneys and organizations that promote living wills and advance directives say the bitter legal battle over the severely brain-damaged woman has led many people to put their end-of-life wishes in writing.
At attorney Christopher Likens' office in Sarasota, clients invariably bring up Terri Schiavo as they put their affairs in order.
"Almost universally, it's 'That poor girl. I don't ever want that to happen to me,' " Likens said. "People are much more informed about the issue."
Most American adults -- estimates are as high as 75 percent -- do not have written directives for their families to follow.
Schiavo did not, and her fate has been debated in court for years as she lies in her hospice bed. Her feeding tube was removed Friday, but Congress worked through the weekend on a compromise to reinsert it, as has been done twice before.
"I think everyone can agree this is not the way the decision should be made," said Paul Malley, president of Aging with Dignity, a Tallahassee-based agency that created the living will known as "Five Wishes."
Orders for the will have been pouring in as the Schiavo case again grabs headlines worldwide. The group is sending out more than 2,000 living wills a day, with many people requesting multiple copies to distribute to family members.
Aging with Dignity estimates requests for its advanced directives are up tenfold because of the Schiavo case. In October 2003, when the case became an international sensation, on some days orders for living wills were pouring in at a rate of 200 an hour. The group has distributed 1 million copies of its living will since then.
"We get requests saying, 'We have seen what happened in the Schiavo case and above all, we don't want to see that same tragedy repeat itself in our family,' " Malley said.
Terri Schiavo was just 26 when her heart stopped because of a chemical imbalance believed to have been brought on by an eating disorder, leaving her severely brain-damaged for the past 15 years.
http://www.indystar.com/articles/5/230816-2905-010.html
