Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health

Title: Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health
Date: 1990
Description: In Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment for an incapacitated patient and upheld Missouri's requirement of clear and convincing evidence of the patient's wishes.
ABP identifier: ABP-E-0016
Historical significance: Extended the American end-of-life genealogy toward prior wishes, incapacity, surrogate decisions, and legal standards governing withdrawal of treatment.
Intellectual stream: Law & public policy; Clinical ethics & professionalism
Verification status: Verified
Evidence confidence: High
Historical role: Major legal milestone concerning treatment refusal, incapacity, evidentiary standards, and surrogate decision-making.
Open question: How should Cruzan be connected to the Patient Self-Determination Act and subsequent development of advance-directive practice?