Article: We'll talk about funeral music, but not living wills.(News)

Byline: Marese McDonagh

FAMILIES are more willing to choose the music for a funeral than address the issue of medical intervention when a loved one falls ill, a leading lecturer in medical law and ethics has claimed.

Dr Diarmuid Hegarty, who teaches at the Royal College of Surgeons, has called for a public debate on living wills - because death is still 'a taboo subject' and most people do not make their wishes about medical intervention known.

Dr Hegarty's plea comes after the Law Reform Commission last month called for patients to have the right to make a living will in which they can refuse treatment to prolong life. The proposed laws do not ...

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