Legal comment from Mark Illidge of Hinterland Lawyers  

March 2005

There has been a lot of coverage in the media this past week regarding the plight of braindamaged American woman, Terri Schiavo. It raises the question; What can we do if we are so seriously ill that we are unconscious or incapable of communicating our wishes at the time critical decisions need to be made? 

If you haven't made an Advance Health Directive, some medical decisions could be made by your attorney (if you have appointed one under an Enduring Power of Attorney) or a statutory health attorney. Your statutory health attorney is usually a family member, primary carer, or close friend who steps in when the need arises. 

However, without an Advance Health Directive you have no legal way of making your wishes known as to when to withdraw or withhold life-sustaining medical treatment. Within the Advance Health Directive you can express your wishes in a general way regarding desired medical treatment, existing medical conditions and allergies, and religious beliefs. You can also give specific instructions about what treatment you want or don't want if your condition is: terminal; incurable; irreversible; permanently unconscious; or so seriously ill or injured that you cannot survive without a life support system.

You can state whether you would want any particular type of medical intervention to keep you alive, if you had any of those conditions. Some people wonder whether they can give instructions to their doctor to help them die.  No - As euthanasia is illegal in Queensland, by law, your doctor cannot give you anything such as an injection that is intended to hasten your death. 

In your Advance Health Directive, you can ask to be given only treatment that keeps you as comfortable and painfree as possible. Click here to download a copy of the Advance Health Directive form. Then talk to your doctor. Your doctor knows your medical background and can explain any terms that you don't understand, and there is a section that must be completed by a doctor. Take note of the strict witnessing requirements of this form.

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