Attorney General says state law for terminally ill is unconstitutional

Friday, April 7th 2006, 11:07 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson says a state law that allows people to control their medical care if they're terminally ill or in a vegetative state is unconstitutional.

He says the Oklahoma Rights of the Terminally Ill or Persistently Unconscious Act is unconstitutional because it limits a person's right to refuse food or water that's provided artificially, such as through an IV. Edmondson says the US Supreme Court has ruled that a person as the right to refuse food and water.

But Edmondson also says a directive known as the Five Wishes can be used by Oklahomans in place of the state law.

Five Wishes also allows a person to make their wishes for medical treatment known if the person should become incapacitated.