A time to die in Wisconsin.

• Date: 03 September 2007
• Author: Zemlicka, Jack

Byline: Jack Zemlicka

When choosing between life and death, does Wisconsin have the necessary legal instruments and, if so, are they being properly used? A recent case in La Crosse involving a 54-year old woman whose family sought to cease life-sustaining treatment has sparked questions about state limitations over a guardian's ability to determine when medical treatment should be terminated. Though the request was withdrawn based on a recent medical opinion and the case was dismissed without prejudice, the issue of whether the woman's court-appointed guardian has the authority to stop treatment may yet challenge current case law. "I think if you look at the landscape of the state, we could easily have a Terri Shiavo case here at any time," said attorney Thomas H. Taylor who practices health law at Johns, Flaherty & Collins S.C., in La Crosse. Current Case Law Two state Supreme Court rulings in the 1990s partially defined a guardian's ability to cease treatment and constitute the current standards in Wisconsin, but according to attorney Ellen J. Henningsen of the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups, the rulings left numerous gaps. Both the 1992 case, In the Guardianship of L.W. (167 Wis. 2d 53...