Surrogate Replacement: Northwestern Memorial v. Bedin

Janet Bedin is the attorney-in-fact for her 86-year-old mother Delores Bedin.  But Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital says Bedin, who has inoperable pancreatic cancer, has been medically ready for release since Sept. 18. (Chicago Tribune)  Janet strongly disagrees.  This morning, Northwestern is asking that a public guardian be appointed for Dolores Bedin, arguing that Janet is not cooperating with the hospital's efforts to discharge her mother to a lower level of care and therefore not acting in her mother's best interests.

In a lengthy article about-to-be-published in the St. Louis University Journal of Health Law and Policy, I explore “surrogate selection” as a solution to medical futility disputes.