Adding constitutional depravation to untimely death: South Dakota's living will pregnancy provision

In 1991, the South Dakota Legislature enacted a living will statute. Included is a pregnancy provision that prevents pregnant women from obtaining the full benefit of the statute. A South Dakota Attorney General's opinion was released discussing the conflict of laws problems posed by the statute. That opinion, however, did not address the more important question of the constitutionality of the pregnancy provision. This comment analyzes the pregnancy provision under the Due Process, Equal Protection, and the Establishment Clauses and concludes that South Dakota's pregnancy provision is unconstitutional under all three doctrines.     

生命预嘱制度建构初探简

生命预嘱（Living Will）是人们事先也就是在健康或意识清楚时签署的,说明在不可治愈的伤病末期或临终时要或不要哪种医疗护理的指示文件。生命预嘱尊重患者的医疗自主权,强调了医护人员和患者及家属之间在医疗工作中的合作关系,是医学领域中必要的创新。事实上,由于种种原因,在中国临终放弃治疗已经相当普遍,但对临终患者是否可以预立生命预嘱,告诉医护人员他是否想要手术,插管进食或使用呼吸机来维持生命,我国法律尚无此类规定。由于缺少相关法律制度对医师的行为进行有效的保护和约束,临床实践中医师对临终患者的处理做出决策相当困难。就死亡过程而言,社会提出了明确要求,法律就应当认真对待。本文通过介绍国内外的生命预嘱立法及其实践情况,了解实践中生命预嘱在我国的存在空间,探讨我国未来生命预嘱的立法思路,为我国未来生命预嘱的主要制度的构建略尽绵薄之力。     

The death of a living soul

We are bedevilled with varying definitions of death, ranging from higher brain death to cardiovascular or somatic death. They all try to capture what is essential to our reasoning about the importance of human death. This column argues that what they all neglect is the Aristotelian inspiration of many of the attempts at reformulation of the definition. Aristotle's work on the soul focuses on the loving soul as the form of humanity that makes human living and dying the morally significant phenomenon that engages law-makers and ethicists alike. The form of humanity comprises a holistic package of properties which cannot be dealt with in a reductive manner and which our criteria for death must answer to. When that is clarified, the role of these criteria and their importance both become more transparent.     

对生前预嘱相关问题的探讨

生前预嘱是指人在意识清楚时签署一份文书来事先表达出自己在生命末期的医疗意愿。本文针对生前预嘱的理解和适用中存在的相关问题作出探讨。本文以尊严死在我国的提出以及生前预嘱在我国的推广现状为基础,从法律的视角分析了生前预嘱的合法性和必要要件,并阐明了在目前的法律框架下生前预嘱还不是生效的法律文件,生前预嘱的落实还需要亲属的同意。本文借鉴其他国家和地区对生前预嘱的立法状况并结合我国的实际,提出了对于放弃治疗和尊严死的理解,以及针对医疗实践中放弃治疗的困惑提出了对放弃治疗应该严格遵循的原则。     

The dynamics of household structure in the event of the father's death

This article looks at the survival strategies used in traditional societies by households that were greatly disrupted by the death of the father, usually their principal provider. Research is based on data from two parish censuses (1716 and 1744) of the city of Québec that describe the composition of urban households. Data from the Registre de la Population du Québec Ancien (RPQA), the register of the Québec population before 1800, were also used to complement the information required. Depending on the survival of a mother after the father's death, it appears that households could maintain their nuclear structure, except for those who were dispersed among other households.     

Glucksberg, the putative right to adequate pain relief, and death with dignity

This Article focuses on the legality of the aggressive use of analgesics and deep sedation for terminally ill patients. The author analyzes the 1997 Supreme Court decisions on physician-assisted suicide, examines the tension between controversial palliative care practices and the traditional legal framework, and explores the contours of an emerging constitutional right to avoid suffering at the end of life. In addition, the author argues that deep sedation together with withholding of artificial nutrition and hydration should be an option for dying patients suffering from severe physical or emotional pain.