The law of the land is that “medical care must be given, and once it is commenced, it cannot be stopped.” That was the message given by Carlos Garcia, M.D., and Sergio Macias during a July 2005 presentation on living wills at the Lake Chapala Society.
In 2008, however, the Mexican Senate revised the general health care law providing patient’s rights for those facing end-of-life decisions. The legislation is federal – meaning states are obliged to recognize it.
In July 2011, Jalisco passed its own legislation that included a provision for health care directives, but did not match the patient’s rights provided for in the federal legislation. Notary public Roberto Espinosa indicates that the Jalisco legislation is limited to “therapeutic (curative) treatments specifically.”
Getting the word out about the federal legislation will help to avoid situations experienced in November 2009 by a lakeside family when their 97-year-old mother fell in the middle of the night at the facility where she lived. By the next morning, problems occurred and she was rushed to a private hospital in Guadalajara where life support began. In a coma, she was kept alive by life support. Even though the mother was expected to live only a very short period of time, the family was told that the life support could not be removed.
Patients in a terminal situation, expected to live less than six months, have various rights under the federal legislation. These include:
- the right to palliative care, including pain control
- the right to voluntarily leave the health institution
- the right to discontinue curative care
- the right to hospice
- the right to a natural death
Patient’s rights are best secured by preparing a document in advance of any illness. You can designate whom you want to act on your behalf if you cannot speak for yourself and you can set out directives for the health care you want or don’t want.
Notary public Rafael Vargas confirms the document remains legally valid through mental incapacitation and does not expire.
The document only needs to be signed by two witnesses. It can be signed by a notary, but Ana Villanueva, legal counsel for Puerta de Hierro Hospital in Guadalajara, said this is not required by the legislation. She further stated that it must be in Spanish.
In November, Roberto Espinosa will be guest speaker at lakeside for a presentation on these topics.
For more information, see www.lifeplanninginjalisco.wordpress.com or check with the law office of Azucena Bateman, Ocampo 30, Ajijic, for the publication or more information.
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