April 10, 2023 By Heidi Klessig, M.D. and Christopher W. Bogosh
The law that redefined death in 1981, referred to as the Uniform Determination of Death Act
(UDDA), is being revised. The UDDA states that death by neurologic
criteria must consist of "irreversible cessation of all functions of the
entire brain, including the brainstem." However, in actual practice,
doctors examine only the brainstem. The result is that people are
being declared dead even though some still have detectable brainwaves,
and others still have a part of the brain that functions, the
hypothalamus. Lawyers have caught on, pointing out in lawsuits that the
whole brain standard was not met for their clients. As a result, the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) is working on updates to the UDDA based on proposals from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN).
In the interest of preventing lawsuits,
the AAN is asking that the neurologic criteria of death be loosened
even further and standardized across the United States. The revised
UDDA is referred to as the RUDDA. Below is the proposal drafted at the February session of the ULC, which will be debated this summer:.........To Read More...
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