Pennsylvania: New Month, New Oral Arguments in a New State

Next week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments in a case we reported on due to an earlier court ruling over a year ago(from the mailing sent out the the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania):

Set forth below is a summary of an important new decision by the Pennsylvania Superior Court regarding whether, and under what circumstances, a guardian has the authority to refuse treatment for an incapacitated person who does not have an end-stage medical condition or is permanently unconscious. In brief, the court held as follows:

1. A court order that appoints a person as a plenary guardian does not authorize that person to refuse life-sustaining treatment for incapacitated persons who do not have end-stage medical conditions or who are not permanently unconscious. In other words, a guardianship order by itself does not authorize the guardian to make such a decision.

2. A guardian must secure a special court order to allow him to refuse life-sustaining treatment for an incapacitated person who does not have an end-stage medical condition or who is not permanently unconscious. The guardian has an “extraordinary burden” to prove by clear and convincing evidence that death would be in the incapacitated person’s best interests, i.e., that extending life would be inhumane under the circumstances. The guardian must present specific medical evidence about the incapacitated person’s diagnosis, prognosis, pain, etc. and, if at all possible, evidence concerning the incapacitated person’s wishes either prior to or during the treatment. The individual’s cognitive disability should generally not be considered.

In sum, this decision will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for a guardian to secure an order that would allow him to refuse life-sustaining treatment when an incapacitated person does not have an end-stage medical condition or is not permanently unconscious.

This ruling has been appealed.  Oral arguments will be held in Harrisburg, PA on Tuesday, May 11, 2010.  NDY has signed onto the amicus brief written and fled by Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania. The other organizations on the brief are: the Arc of Pennsylvania, Achieva, Vision for Equality, Liberty Resources, Inc., and Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council.

A short time ago, I received several briefs related to the case.  I’ll try to review them and make some sense of them over the weekend so I can report more on Monday.

In the meantime, you can read the amicus brief filed by Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania, NDY et al here.  There are links to both pdf and word versions of the amicus.  –Stephen Drake