Florida Case Puts Focus on End-of-Life Decisions
Schiavo Fight Underscores Gray Areas in Law, Living Wills
Listen: Hear Karen Kaplan describe how to set up a living will.
The legal battle over the care of Florida's Terri Schiavo has focused the nation on the rights of severely injured patients -- and the plight of family members who often must decide when to end life support. NPR's Rachel Jones reports that although most states have legal tools for end-of-life medical decisions, most people aren't using them.
In an interview with Jones, Karen Kaplan, president of the Partnership for Caring and national program director for Last Acts, a communications campaign about end-of-life care, describes the basics of setting up living wills.
Related NPR Stories
Florida Life-Support Case Has National Impact Oct. 22, 2003
Woman's Return to Life-Support Opens New Rifts Oct. 23, 2003
Families Struggle with Life-Support Issues Oct. 23, 2003

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