Wrongful Life Litigation

A couple of weeks ago the New York Times ran this article,  Filing Suit for ‘Wrongful Life’, which asks this question: “More Americans are writing end-of-life instructions as the pandemic renders such decisions less abstract. But are medical providers listening?” The article features one case in litigation where the surviving spouse claimed that the health care providers failed to honor the patient’s directive claiming the health care providers “disregarded a New York State MOLST — medical orders for life-sustaining treatment — form and his spouse’s explicit instructions to a doctor who called to seek her guidance.”  The article gives a good explanation of the issues and a review of prior cases on similar topics. This is an important issue and I’m going to have my students read the article.