To: CLICK41 --INTERNET [log in to unmask] *** Reply to note of 03/27/97 01:03 Deborah: The best place to start is probebly the Alberta Law Reform Institute's booklet on 'Advance Directives and Substitute Decision-Making in Personal Health Care. Report #11, November 1991. When people are mentally competent they can make the decisions they want. The problem arises when they become incompetent either temporarily or permanently (lets say because of a cardiac arrest or stroke). Who gives consent for them to be treated? They can't. Alberta law allows for decisions to be made by a legally appointed guardian, but most people don't have one. The law requires a physician to get consent to treatment, but does not provide a mechanism to obtain it (except in the case of a guardian). So I see the legislation as a necessary fix of a problem, rather than a means to save money. Hope this helps. Howard Platt, M.B.,Ch.B., These are my own opinions and may not be those of my employer.