Don Udall

Advance directives are documents that record an individual’s wishes about life support in the event that he or she becomes unable to communicate. In the following viewpoint, Don Udall encourages people to draft advance directives if they wish to avoid the prospect of physicians performing unwanted life-sustaining measures on them. Advance directives can ensure that the dying will not linger in a vegetative state for years attached to feeding tubes and other life-support technologies. Udall is a surgeon in Newport Beach, California.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What percentage of citizens make known their wishes about end-of-life care, according to Udall?
2. How long was Morris Udall kept alive by a feeding tube, according to the author?
3. According to Udall, about how many patients are currently in permanent...