Advance Directives and the Pursuit of Death with Dignity.

Cantor, Norman L. Advance Directives and the Pursuit of Death with Dignity. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1993.

An advance medical directive is a device aimed at controlling medical intervention during the dying process after a patient is no longer competent. Because of its ambiguous legal status and the ambivalence of medical personnel, it is still uncertain whether the advance directive will be a successful tool for the withholding of modern life-prolonging technology.

After examining the issues surrounding future-oriented medical decisionmaking, Cantor outlines the legal foundation and framework governing advance directives...