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Associated PressHis living will seems to say it's time to let him go. Not so, says his wife, whom he granted power of attorney.
ORLANDO - Alice Pinette says she is sure her husband of 53 years, hooked to life support machines in a hospital, is not at death's door. He is aware of his surroundings and can communicate, she says.
That's why the Clermont woman is going to court rather than watch Hanford Pinette be disconnected from those machines, despite his living will stating that dying would be preferable were he ever faced with a terminal illness and incapacity.
Alice Pinette possesses another document, signed the same day in 1998 as the living will. It gives her power of attorney over her 73-year-old husband's life.
At a court hearing Tuesday, arguments will be presented over which document should prevail. Circuit Judge Lawrence Kirkwood must decide what may be a landmark right-to-die case.
"This is a brand new area of the law," said William E. Ruffier, Alice Pinette's attorney.
Hanford Pinette's living will assigned his wife to carry out his wishes, designating her as his "surrogate." In the event of a terminal condition with no probability of recovery, Pinette stated he wanted "to die naturally" and receive medication only to "alleviate pain."
But the power of attorney states that Hanford assigned Alice to decide how he should be cared for, including any life-prolonging measures.
Earlier this year, Pinette suffered congestive heart failure, his wife said. He has been hospitalized since February, according to the petition filed by Orlando Regional Healthcare. He is currently at Lucerne Hospital.
In court documents, the hospital says Pinette's "renal system, respiratory system and cardiovascular system are all being supported by artificial means alone."
David L. Evans, Orlando Regional Healthcare's lawyer, said the hospital maintains Pinette will not get better and that it wants to abide by his wishes.
But Alice Pinette, who goes to the hospital daily, said her husband is far better off than that, her attorney said.
"People typically think of these living wills, when they sign them, as "If I'm in a vegetative state, hooked up to a bunch of machines and draining my family's bank account, my wish is to not have that artificial life support,' " Ruffier said. "But in Mr. Pinette's case, he is alert, aware and able to still enjoy his family."
The case is being watched closely in legal circles.
"The living will is supposed to ... supersede even the wife or a designated surrogate," said Lauchlin Waldoch, a Tallahassee lawyer who is on the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys' board of directors. "This is a very good example why we, as elder law attorneys, preach the gospel of coming to see us."
Another expert said living wills can only go so far.
"The health care surrogate is more powerful in many ways," said Scott Solkoff, chairman of the elder law section of the Florida Bar. "In real life, regardless of what the statutes state, the surrogate is a real person, not just a piece of paper."
Hanford Pinette's situation has both similarities to and differences from that of Terri Schiavo, the severely brain-damaged Clearwater woman who has become a cause celebre for right-to-life activists and advocacy groups for the disabled.
Schiavo collapsed 14 years ago, fell into what doctors say is a vegetative state, and is being kept alive by a feeding tube. She had no living will, but, based on her husband's testimony that she previously said she would not want to be kept alive by artificial means in that kind of situation, a judge granted his request to have the feeding tube removed.
That ruling has been kept on hold, however, during a long legal battle waged by Terri Schiavo's parents and others who contend she would want to be kept alive and might recover.