The current state of advance directive law in Ohio: more protective of provider liability than patient rights.

I. INTRODUCTION II. THE GROWING NEED FOR ADVANCE DIRECTIVES A. The Misuse and Fear of Futile Medical Treatments Have Increased the Need for Written Advance Directives B. The "Evolution" of CPR and Its Impact at the End of Life C. Medical Malpractice Liability Influences the Provider's Decision of Whether to Administer Futile Medical Treatment D. Conclusion of the Growing Need for Advance Directives III. HISTORY OF THE RIGHT TO REFUSE MEDICAL TREATMENT A. History of the Right to Refuse Medical Treatment Outside of Ohio B. History of the Right to Refuse Medical Treatment in Ohio 1. The Leach Case 2. The Modified Uniform Rights of the Terminally Ill Act IV. INSUFFICIENT COMMON LAW CAUSES OF ACTION IN OHIO A. Negligence 1. Allore v. Flower Hospital 2. Anderson v. St. Francis Hospital B. Battery 1. Anderson v. St. Francis Hospital 2. Allore v. Flower Hospital C. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress and Perkins D. Conclusion of Ohio's Insufficient Common Law Causes of faction V. PROPOSAL TO PROTECT THE OHIO PATIENT'S RIGHT TO AUTONOMY A. Repeal Civil Statutory Immunity and Codify a Patient's Right to Seek a Remedy B. Repeal Criminal Statutory Immunity C. Recognize a National Advance Directive D. Encourage Awareness of a National Living Will Directory E. Conclusion of Proposals to Protect the Ohio Patient's Right to Autonomy VI. CONCLUSION I. INTRODUCTION Edna Marie Leach was a healthy, energetic, seventy year-old woman who lived with her husband, Gifford, in a modest home near Akron, Ohio. (1) Edna and Gifford had two grown children who no longer lived with their parents. Edna maintained close relationships with her children and her siblings, and she had many friends in the community. (2) One day, Edna began suffering from lower back pain, followed by muscle weakness in her lower body. She began walking hunched-over and finally visited a physician to seek treatment for her ailments. Edna was diagnosed with a progressive, disabling disease of the nervous system, named amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. (3) Edna's physician informed her that this disease was terminal and would eventually physically incapacitate her. Edna's physician estimated that she would die from the disease within three to five years. Following her diagnosis, Edna informed family members and friends that she did not wish to be kept alive by artificial means, such as machines. She stated that the idea of being kept alive by machines terrified her. Edna made similar statements to her husband, sister, two cousins, and various friends. One month after her diagnosis, Edna's health rapidly deteriorated. Shortly after being admitted to a local hospital for respiratory distress, Edna suffered a cardiac arrest. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (4) was successfully administered, and a respirator was surgically inserted into her trachea to facilitate breathing. A nasogastric tube was also inserted into her stomach to facilitate the administration of nutrition. Edna's physicians diagnosed her as being in a permanent, chronic, vegetative state. (5) Despite protests by Edna's husband and children of her intentions to not be kept alive in that state, Edna's physician informed her family that according to Ohio law, "life support could only be terminated by a court order." (6) Five months later, after an evidentiary heating that included the testimony of seventeen witnesses, (7) a court order was issued directing the termination of Edna's life support. (8) Three weeks after the order was issued, Edna's respirator was finally disconnected, and she subsequently died. (9) Following Edna's death, her family sought to recover damages from the hospital for "pain, suffering, and mental anguish" (10) on behalf of their mother and themselves. …