An advanced directive is defined as a legal document that takes effect if one cannot make decisions due to illness or incapacity. Several different types of advance directives exist. Some, such as a living will, give instructions on which...
healthcare
alcohol
Alcohol is a set of chemical compounds consumed as a liquid by individuals for its intoxicating effect or used in industrial projects for its other unique properties.
Absent any specific regulation, alcohol is treated like...
alternative reproductive technology (ART)
Alternative reproductive technology (ART), also known as assisted reproductive technology, can be defined as an alternative to traditional reproduction, used by persons who are infertile. It is also a term that encompasses in vitro...
ART
Alternative Reproductive Technology (ART), also known as assisted reproductive technology, can be defined as an alternative to traditional reproduction, used by persons who are infertile. It is also a term that encompasses in vitro...
assisted suicide
As noted in the Supreme Court of New Mexico case Morris v. Brandenburg, assisted suicide is the act of actively aiding other people in the taking of their own lives. Physician-assisted suicide, a subset of assisted suicide, involves the...
asylum
Asylum is a kind of protection granted by a foreign country to individuals, especially those who face persecution in their home countries because of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political...
autopsy
Autopsy, borrowed from the Greek autopsia, meaning “the act of seeing with one’s own eyes” means the detailed medical examination, and/or dissection of a dead body to determine the cause of death, or for any scientific and medical purpose....
COBRA
COBRA, or the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, is a federal statute, passed in 1985, that provides employees and their families the right to continue group health benefits under an employers group health plan if their work...
comfort care
Comfort care, also called palliative care, is medical care designed not to cure, but to reduce a patient’s pain and keep him or her comfortable. This kind of medical care focuses on the patient’s quality of life, usually toward his or her end of life....
commerce
Commerce refers generally to the activity of exchanging products, goods, and services for financial gain. The word commerce usually is used to mean economic activity broadly on a national or other large scale. Commerce can be used in many...