Experts Criticize Missouri's `Living Will' Law

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Experts say Missouri's "living will" law is probably the nation's most restrictive.

In fact, some lawyers in Missouri advise their clients to use other types of documents to clarify their wishes about life-prolonging treatments.

"Missouri and, to a lesser extent, New York are the two states that lie outside of the national norm" on living wills, says Alexander M. Capron, a professor of law and medicine at the University of Southern California. He is an authority on living wills, or directives that people draw up for their health care when they may not be able to comprehend treatment options.

Alan Meisel, director of the Center for Medical Ethics …