William Penn Life, 1994 (29. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1994-01-01 / 1. szám
Page 2, William Penn Life, January 1994 William Penn LIFE Official Publication of the William Penn Association Published Monthly Office of Publication: 709 Brighton Road Pittsburgh, PA 15233 Phone: 412/231-2979 Third Class U.S. Postage Paid Pittsburgh, PA Permit No. 2724 E. E. Vargo Editor-in-Chief George S. Charles, Jr. Frances A. Furedy Associate Editors John E. Lovász Managing Editor NATIONAL OFFICERS E. E. Vargo National President George S. Charles, Jr. National V.P. /Secretary Frances A. Furedy National V.P./Treasurer Robert A. Kapinus Assistant Treasurer BOARD OF DIRECTORS Joseph P. Arvay Chairman Michael J. Hrabar Vice Chairman Roger G. Nagy Vice Chairman Anthony C. Beke Charles S. Fabian Louis A. Fodor Elmer A. Furedy Barbara A. House Michael R. Kara Michael F. Tomcsak Elmer W. Toth Frank J. Wukovits, Jr. Frank J. Radvany Secretary of the Board AUDITING COMMITTEE Charles J. Furedy Robert A. Ivancso Co-Chairmen Margaret H. Boso Secretary Dennis A. Chobody Joseph Hamari Ernest J. Mozer, Sr. CONSULTANTS Bruce & Bruce Company Actuary Horovitz, Rudoy & Roteman C.P.A. Rothman Gordon Foreman &. Groudine, P.C. General Counsel Dr. Julius Kesseru Medical Director Unsolicited articles, letters, manuscripts, pictures and other material submitted to the WILLIAM PENN LIFE are forwarded at the owner s risk, and the WILLIAM PENN LIFE expressly denies any responsibility for their safekeeping or return. The WILLIAM PENN LIFE reserves the right to edit, revise or reject any article submitted for publication Postmaster: If undelivered, please send form 3579 to: William Penn Association 709 Brighton Road Pittsburgh, PA 15233 The Living Will By Emil W. Herman, Esq., General Counsel In this, the sixth in a series of articles about estate planning, the focus is not on whether you should use a trust or a will, or any of the other estate planning documents available to you, to dispose of your tangible and intangible assets after your death. Instead, the focus is on medical treatment, and how, if you become incompetent or if you are unconscious, you may nonetheless direct the medical treatment you will receive. In 1990, the United State Supreme Court decided in the case of Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health. At issue was whether the health care provider could discontinue providing Ms. Cruzan, who was in a "persistent vegetative state,” with food and water through tube feeding. If denied water and food, Ms. Cruzan’s death would be hastened by either or both dehydration or malnutrition. Before becoming ill, Ms. Cruzan had orally expressed a wish never to live "like a vegetable.” The United States Supreme Court found, however, that her medical treatment wishes had to be established by "clear and convincing evidence,” and that one oral statement did not meet that standard. What is implicit in the decision, however, is the acknowledgement by the Supreme Court that, if a person’s advance medical treatment directives could be established by clear and convincing evidence, they must be honored. One way to establish, by dear and convincing evidence, your own health care directives is by execution of a living will. Many states adopted living will statutes in which they outline the types of treatment that can be directed in advance, and the procedure for directing whether those treatments should be provided. Under some statutes, rather than directing the treatment yourself, you can designate a family member or other person to act as your surrogate, making those decisions when necessary. In Pennsylvania, the Advance Directive For Health Care Act (the "Act”) was adopted on April 16, 1992. In adopting the Act, the legislature acknowledged: "(A)ll competent adults have a qualified right to control decisions relating to their own health care . . . subject to certain interests of society . . . Modern medical technological procedures make possible the prolongation of human life beyond natural limits. The application of some procedures to an individual suffering a difficult and uncomfortable process of dying may cause loss of patient dignity and secure only contirtuation of a precarious and burdensome prolongation of life.” The legislature added, however, that it was not authorizing mercy killing, euthanasia, or aided suicide. Under the Act, if you are married, a high school graduate or over the age of 18, you may execute a health care declaration. Your Welcome To Our Fraternal Family VICTORIA C. CHULOCK STANLEY FANNIN Branch 14 Cleveland, OH Branch 189 Alliance, OH We happily present for your enjoyment more of our newest William Penn members. If you have a child age 5 or under who recently joined our Association, send us his or her picture so that all our members can welcome your child into our fraternal family. execution of the form must be witnessed by two persons over the age of 18. Although not required, the form should be executed in duplicate, with the extra copy given to your physician. The form does not become effective immediately, however, but is only considered when your attending physician determines, and states in writing, that you are incompetent and in a terminal condition or state of permanent unconsciousness. That diagnosis must be confirmed by a second physician. The suggested form provided in the Act allows you to consider listed specific treatments and to direct whether any one or more of those treatments should be provided. The listed treatments range from the basics of food, water and antibiotic therapy to the complex of cardiac resuscitation, surgery, invasive diagnostic testing and kidney dialysis. The Act authorizes you to designate a surrogate to make those decisions for you, if you choose. For those who belong to the Catholic faith, the Catholic Bishops of Pennsylvania, in June 1993, authorized a form of living will which is consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church. The basic difference between the forms is that the Bishops’ form does not list specific treatments, but rather directs that ordinary medical care continue to be provided while extraordinary measures should not be taken. Designated as within the realm of normal medical treatment are food and water. The Bishops’ form also allows you to designate a surrogate. Both the Act’s and the Bishops’ forms require different considerations, however, when pregnancy is involved. The Bishops’ form requires that "all medically indicated measures” be used to sustain the life of a pregnant woman if the measures used "could sustain” the life of the unborn child until birth. The Act requires that life sustaining measures and treatment must be provided to a pregnant woman unless the attending physician and an obstetrician determine that, despite the continued treatment: (1) the unborn child will not continue to develop to a live birth; (2) the treatment is physically harmful to the pregnant woman; or (3) the pain that would be caused to the pregnant woman by sustaining life cannot be alleviated by medication. There is no requirement by law that you execute a health care declaration, and execution does not mean you are rejecting the treatments listed in the form. Rather, the form gives you the opportunity to direct or reject the treatments. If you are interested in discussing this matter further, you should contact your attorney and/or clergyman. Emil W. Herman, Esq, is general counsel to William Penn Association and senior member of the Pittsburgh law firm of Rothman Gordon Foreman & Groudine, P.C. All Hungarians invited to join World Federation The American Council of the Hungarian World Federation, and its president László Papp, invite you to become a member of their organization. If you are of Hungarian ancestry, you are invited to join the Federation in working unselfishly for the betterment and further understanding of Hungarians and their needs in the "Old Country,” of the unfortunate minorities in surrounding countries, and of Hungarians scattered all over the world. The president of the Hungarian World Federation (M VSz) is Sándor Csoóri. The organization has three vice presidents: one from Hungary, one from the Carpathian Basin and one from the Western World. The current vice president of the Western World is Ernő Jakabbfy of Sweden. Members of the Presidency from the United States are Imre Bertalan, president emeritus of the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America, and E. E. Vargo, national president of William Penn Association. The U.S. member on the Ethics Committee is István Szabó. Other Americans on seated committees are Imre Beke, Pál Fekete, István Füzesi, András Harsányi, László Hámos, Ágoston Molnár, Tibor Osztroviczky and László Papp. Articles & photographs for the February issue of the William Penn Life are due in our office by January 21,1994
