Statistics On Living Wills
Just a few years ago the media was flooded with the news of Terri Schiavo case, a brain damaged woman from Florida whose parents and husband were involved in a 7-year legal battle over her right to die or live. This case from forward the importance of having living wills and people started paying more attention to them. |
Unfortunately statistics on living wills is dismal in the United States. Statistics show that only around 25 percent to 40 percent Americans have living wills. Statistics further show that non-Hispanic white people are six times more likely to have living wills compared to Hispanics and Asians, and three times more likely compared to African American.
Statistics based on a national survey showed that older adults are more likely to have living will and this number could be as high as 40 percent. The next in line who have living wills are widows (50 percent) and finally college graduates (36 percent).
However, after the Terri Schiavo case, the interest in living wills is being generated and in a few years more percent of Americans will have living wills. Basically the importance of living will is not known by many people. People have to be educated that living wills are legal documents that are recognized by practically all the states and allows a person to choose or not choose a treatment measure in case he or she falls seriously ill or meets with a near fatal accident.
Terri Schiavo was just 26 years old when she had a heart attack, which damaged her brain leaving her in a permanently vegetative state. She did not have a living will and so her husband and her parents did not know her wishes when it came to this medical emergency. Her husband wanted to pull the plug but her parents were against it and this led to a seven-year legal battle between her parents and husband.
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