As noted in the Supreme Court of New Mexico case Morris v. Brandenburg, assisted suicide is the act of actively aiding other people in the taking of their own lives. Physician-assisted suicide, a subset of assisted suicide, involves the assistance of a physician.
Autopsy, borrowed from the Greek term autopsia – meaning “the act of seeing with one’s own eyes” – means the detailed medical examination and/or dissection of a dead body to determine the cause of death or for any scientific and medical purpose.
Comfort care, also called palliative care, is medical care designed not to cure, but to reduce a patient’s pain and keep him or her comfortable. This kind of medical care focuses on the patient’s quality of life, usually toward his or her end of life. As explained by The National Institute on Aging, a patient can receive palliative care along with treatment intended to cure their serious illness(es).
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, also known as COBRA, is a federal statute, passed in 1985, that provides employees and their families the right to continue group health benefits&
A controlled substance is a drug, substance, or immediate precursor defined by the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. Under the Controlled Substances Act, it is unlawful, inter alia, for any person to manufacture, sell, prescribe, distribute, dispense, administer, possess, have under their control, abandon, or transport a controlled substance, except as expressly provided by the Act.
Broadly defined, health law includes the law of public health, health care generally, and medical care specifically. Preserving public health is a primary duty of the state. Health regulations and laws are therefore almost all administered at the state level. Many states delegate authority to subordinate governmental agencies such as boards of health. These boards are created by legislative acts.
A health care declaration is a written legal document that sets out how a person should be cared for in case of an emergency or incapacity.
A health care directive is a written legal document that sets out how a person should be cared for in case of an emergency or incapacity.
