The Region - News from Nov. 30, 1986

A nursing home was ordered not to use “heroic” medical means to sustain the life of Jacob Jack Cantor, 75, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Citing requests in a “living will” signed by the patient in 1981 while he was mentally sound, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jack M. Newman temporarily prohibited the Convalescent Center of Reseda from acting to prolong Cantor’s life or transferring him to another facility for such treatment. The order, sought by Lydia Cantor, the patient’s legal guardian and former wife, also prohibits state or local agencies from prosecuting the nursing home for failing to provide the care. Lydia Cantor decided to sue, she said, after the nursing home last month sent him to a nearby hospital for treatment of pneumonia without her consent. Under state law, a person can refuse life-prolonging medical care or appoint a substitute decision maker if incapable of making such decisions.