Wesley J. Smith wrote about this legislation in National Review Online on May 18th. He warns that “moves are afoot in bioethics” that could allow dementia advance directives to be used either to authorize euthanasia where legal or to require withholding food and water from patients who can no longer provide current consent, even when they may still appear willing to eat or drink.
Supporters frame the bill around autonomy, quality of life, and reducing emotional and financial burdens. They argue that it allows individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias to create “Dementia Specific Advance Directives” (DSADs) while they still have “decisional capacity.”
No one disputes the devastation of dementia. Many of us have watched helplessly as memory, speech, and independence faded in someone we loved. Legislators invoke that suffering to justify this bill.
What they do not advertise is that this creates a potential dangerous structure in which withdrawal of artificial nutrition and hydration becomes routine in certain cases.