Metro In:J(1M your ol ff;- imt: The road Cover Story iT.T.TC; a chance, SHUTTING DOWN from page 17 AUDE1TE www.audettecadillac.com • Clarify your own values on treat- ment issues. • Talk with family, friends, your rabbi and others knowledgeable in biomedical ethics. • Speak with your personal physi- cian to gain understanding of med- ical terms relating to your intended choices, to make certain treatment preferences are consistent with your health status and to make sure your values become known to your care team. • Repeat the process if you change physicians. • Execute a healthcare directive or living will, to make clear your prefer- ences. BREAK THROUGH 7100 Orchard Lake Road, W. Bloomfield Mon & Thur, tit 9. Tues..Wed.. Fri. til 6 1-888-920-5417 Appoint A Guardian "A living will written in 2005 will, in all probability, not be very useful in 30 years," said Rabbi E.B. "Bunny" Freedman, executive director of Detroit's Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy Network. He suggests appointing, "a loving person you trust to be your legal, sur- rogate, medical proxy, to make those decisions if you cannot. "All that was here to help sustain life 75 years ago was what was in the doc- tor's little black bag," Rabbi Freedman said. "Now there are multiple ways of keeping someone alive. We can't possi- bly predict the situation our medical care system will be in at the time of the end of our life." Rabbi Nevins' advice includes several recommendations. "I urge all members of our community to appoint a health care proxy, to fill out an advanced directive and to discuss with loved ones what types of therapy they would want in various circumstances," he said. In addition to allowing the patient to receive the care they would want, he said, "This can help unite a family rather than divide it in difficult cir- cumstances, such as that of Terri and her family." ❑ Joanne Palmer of the JTA contributed to this story. For a related opinion piece by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, see page 28. Making A Living Will NK SHOW URSDAY & FRIDAY, APRIL 7 & 8 3/31 2005 18 299 W MAPLE RD DOWNTOWN BiRiviiNGHAM 24P 642 4999 Information on creating a living will within the halachic interpretations of the different streams of Judaism are available. • Conservative: "Jewish Medical Directives for Health Care" (The Rabbinical Assembly, 1994, Rabbi Aaron L. Mackler, editor), a booklet containing forms for a health care proxy and living will. Write to the United Synagogue Book Service, 155 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010. Cost is $4. • Orthodox: "Halachic Living Will", prepared by Agudath Israel of America, may be downloaded, with Michigan legal inclusion at www. jlaw.com/Forms/lwdocs/MichiganHalachicLivingWill.pdf The Orthodox Union has numerous forms available on its Web site, including living wills and health care proxies customized to conform to both Jewish law and state law. To access the forms, go to w -ww.jlaw.com/forms/. • Reform: A bio-ethics study guide, "Living Will-Medical Directives." Order by mail from the Department of Jewish Family Concerns, Union for Reform Judaism, 633 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017, or by calling (212) 650-4294. Cost: $3/URJ members; $5/non-members. For more information, access the Web site at urj.org/jfc/resources/ . Also, "A Time to Prepare" (Rabbi Richard F. Address, editor, New York: UAHC Press, 1994), a guide for determining extraordinary medical treatment and mak- ing financial arrangements, also contains various detachable forms for end-of-life planning. To obtain a copy, access the Web site at uahcweb.org or call (800) 368-1090. Cost is $6.95. ❑