Last modified: Tuesday, March 22, 2005 12:46 AM EST Interest grows in health proxy By rick foster / sun chronicle staff Anyone who fails to provide instructions for their care in the event they are incapacitated could be risking a fate similar to that of Terri Schiavo, legal experts say. Schiavo, the 41-year-old brain damaged Florida woman who has been in a persistent vegetative state for 15 years, has become the center of a tug-of-war between her husband and her parents over whether to keep her alive. She is also being held up as a symbol for political forces opposing each other over the right to die. Had Schiavo clearly set forth her wishes in a living will, there would have been no case, said Donna Bashaw, vice president of the National Elder Law Association, whose members specialize in estate planning and later-life issues. `` This case, the Quinlan case and the Cruzan case all revolve around the same thing,'' said Bashaw. `` None had a written, advance directive saying what their wishes were in the event they could not speak for themselves.'' Karen Ann Quinlan, a 21-year-old woman who overdosed on drugs and alcohol in 1975, and Nancy Cruzan, a 27-year-old accident victim, both became the subjects of protracted legal battles after they lapsed into coma-like states. Courts eventually allowed the parents of both women to remove life support equipment, but Quinlan remained alive for 10 more years after her respirator was disconnected. In Massachuetts, a document called a `` health care proxy'' allows people to clearly state their wishes in the event they are no longer able to speak for themselves. Proxies, which appoint an agent to give health care orders on the author's behalf, are easy to complete can be put into effect with or without a lawyer's advice. `` The best way to be sure your wishes will be followed is to put them in writing,'' said Michael McGahan, an Attleboro attorney who has advised clients on end-of-life issues. Most hospitals and long-term health care facilities ask incoming patients if they have any specific instructions to be carried out in a crisis. McGahan said a proxy should be viewed as an indispensable document that most people should have, in addition to a will and power of attorney making provisions for their financial affairs. The Schiavo case raises an `` issue of immense proportions,'' North Attleboro lawyer Austin McHoul said. At stake is whether a patient will have any say in his or her care after becoming incapacitated. While many people confide wishes to a spouse, he said, leaving a written document is critical. In any dispute, a judge and not a loved one might end up calling the shots. In Massachusetts, a health care proxy is the closest thing to a `` living will'' recognized in most states. Anyone 18 years or older can create such a document. Proxies often list an alternate in case the primary agent dies or is unable to serve. Proxies frequently include instructions as to whether to withhold life-sustaining care under certain conditions, including orders not to resuscitate the victim if there is no hope for recovery. Documents can be customized by a lawyer to the signer's specifications or a blanket form can be downloaded free from the Internet. Proxy forms can be downloaded from healthcareproxies.com. Lawyers say individuals should be as specific as possible in describing their wishes, up to and including whether they wish to be given feeding tubes and if they should be administered pain-relieving drugs and other medicines short of intervening to prolong their lives. Experts were quick to issue caveats for those planning to fill out proxies. Proxies are only as good as the agent they are entrusted to, McHoul said. With the passage of time, the person named to act as agent may die or become unable to serve due to illness. It's best to go over your will and proxy statements regularly to make sure the information is current, he said. While free proxy and living will forms may be useful, McGahan said, they're not for everyone. `` The danger is that preprinted forms are not designed for the specifics of each case,'' he said. `` You really need the advice of competent counsel.''