Chuck
June 3rd, 2005, 09:45 PM
FRANKFORT -- House Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark, D-Louisville, is
proposing legislation to make living wills available to more Kentuckians
by having the documents offered in county clerk and circuit clerk
offices.
Living wills are documents that outline people's decisions regarding the
medical care they want to receive -- or not receive -- if they become
incapacitated or unable to communicate their wishes.
Clark has prefiled legislation, BR 60, that would make it routine for
county and circuit clerks to offer living wills to people renewing their
driver's licenses, signing up to vote or registering vehicles. The bill,
prefiled today, will be considered in next year's legislative session.
"Most people haven't taken steps to ensure that their wishes regarding
medical care are known before a serious illness or injury strikes,"
Clark said. "If we can make it easier for Kentuckians to formally record
their preferences in living wills, then fewer families will carry the
burden of making medical decisions for someone whose wishes were never
made clear."
The plan to use circuit and county clerks' offices to inform people
about the availability of living wills is similar to the one implemented
a few years ago that makes it standard to inform Kentuckians renewing
their driver's licenses about the organ donor section on the back of the
licenses.
Under Clark's bill, the Legislative Research Commission would print
living will forms and distribute them to county and circuit clerks'
offices. There would be no charge to people who pick up the documents at
those offices. Anyone who requests a living will by mail from county or
circuit clerk offices could be charged a small amount for postage.
The legislation would also give Kentuckians the option to file living
wills with their county clerks for safekeeping. An $8 filing fee will be
collected from people who choose to do that.
Interest in living wills has increased since the Terri Schiavo case in
Florida attracted nationwide attention to the controversy over whether
or not the brain damaged woman's feeding tube should be removed. Schiavo
didn't have a living will, resulting in years of court battles over her
medical care. She died on March 31, 13 days after her feeding tube was
removed.
A growing number of Web sites are offering living wills and information
about the documents. But Clark said the state should go a step further
to ensure that as many people as possible have the option to obtain the
forms.
"I suspect a great number of people who haven't decided whether or not a
living will is right for them simply haven't been offered one," he said.
"Utilizing the county and circuit clerk's offices would be a step toward
ensuring that Kentuckians' health care decisions are respected in cases
where they can no longer able to speak for themselves."
Kentuckians interested in obtaining living wills and health care
surrogate forms online can download documents from the Kentucky
Legislature Home Page at http://lrc.ky.gov/Lrcpubs/LivingWill.pdf or the
Kentucky Attorney General's Web site at http://ag.ky.gov/livingwill/.
proposing legislation to make living wills available to more Kentuckians
by having the documents offered in county clerk and circuit clerk
offices.
Living wills are documents that outline people's decisions regarding the
medical care they want to receive -- or not receive -- if they become
incapacitated or unable to communicate their wishes.
Clark has prefiled legislation, BR 60, that would make it routine for
county and circuit clerks to offer living wills to people renewing their
driver's licenses, signing up to vote or registering vehicles. The bill,
prefiled today, will be considered in next year's legislative session.
"Most people haven't taken steps to ensure that their wishes regarding
medical care are known before a serious illness or injury strikes,"
Clark said. "If we can make it easier for Kentuckians to formally record
their preferences in living wills, then fewer families will carry the
burden of making medical decisions for someone whose wishes were never
made clear."
The plan to use circuit and county clerks' offices to inform people
about the availability of living wills is similar to the one implemented
a few years ago that makes it standard to inform Kentuckians renewing
their driver's licenses about the organ donor section on the back of the
licenses.
Under Clark's bill, the Legislative Research Commission would print
living will forms and distribute them to county and circuit clerks'
offices. There would be no charge to people who pick up the documents at
those offices. Anyone who requests a living will by mail from county or
circuit clerk offices could be charged a small amount for postage.
The legislation would also give Kentuckians the option to file living
wills with their county clerks for safekeeping. An $8 filing fee will be
collected from people who choose to do that.
Interest in living wills has increased since the Terri Schiavo case in
Florida attracted nationwide attention to the controversy over whether
or not the brain damaged woman's feeding tube should be removed. Schiavo
didn't have a living will, resulting in years of court battles over her
medical care. She died on March 31, 13 days after her feeding tube was
removed.
A growing number of Web sites are offering living wills and information
about the documents. But Clark said the state should go a step further
to ensure that as many people as possible have the option to obtain the
forms.
"I suspect a great number of people who haven't decided whether or not a
living will is right for them simply haven't been offered one," he said.
"Utilizing the county and circuit clerk's offices would be a step toward
ensuring that Kentuckians' health care decisions are respected in cases
where they can no longer able to speak for themselves."
Kentuckians interested in obtaining living wills and health care
surrogate forms online can download documents from the Kentucky
Legislature Home Page at http://lrc.ky.gov/Lrcpubs/LivingWill.pdf or the
Kentucky Attorney General's Web site at http://ag.ky.gov/livingwill/.