Incidence
There has been a dramatic shift toward institutionalization of the aged and those near death. Over 80% of Americans now die in a hospital or other institution. About 25% die in pain, but in only 1 to 2% of the cases is the pain unavoidable.
Claim
A terminally ill person who is not informed that his illness is incurable and that he is near death cannot make decisions about the end of his life: whether to undergo the artificial safety of a hospital to perhaps gain a little longer life; where to spend his last days; how to put his affairs in order.