Oregon orders woman spoon-fed despite advanced directive

APNewsNow.

ASHLAND, Ore. – Oregon officials are requiring a nursing facility to spoon-feed a woman despite her advance directive asking that measures not be taken to prolong her life.

The Mail Tribune reported that former librarian Nora Harris filled out the directive after receiving a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. She is now unable to communicate and the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Office says the nursing facility must help her eat.

Her husband, Bill Harris, says the state is ignoring his wife’s wishes. He tried to challenge the spoon-feeding but lost his civil case in July.

Jackson County Circuit Judge Patricia Crain agreed that Nora Harris would not have wanted the intervention. But Crain said she had to allow the spoon-feeding because the state says not helping Harris eat would violate state law.