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just minutes to fill out, Fade says. No lawyer is needed, usually just a witness or two. A few places require forms to be registered with the Revived interest state or notarized (check with your doctor or state offi- cials for requirements in your state). Otherwise, copies are simply distributed to relatives, friends or advisers. in living wills Official forms specific to each of the states and Wash- ington, D.C., are available by calling Choice in Dying at By Esme M. Infante 212-366-5540 or writing the organization at 200 Varick St., USA TODAY 10th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10019. State departments of health or aging and hospitals also should have them. Once doctors deemed Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis sick An estimated 15% to 20% of U.S. adults have living wills beyond hope, they let her go home to die swiftly and with- set to legally go into effect when a doctor declares them out medical intervention — reportedly just as she had re- terminally ill or permanently unconscious and unable to quested in a "living will." make sound decisions. She's said to have been among a rising number of U.S. Most states also allow a health proxy — usually a rela- adults signing documents to tell doctors what should — or tive or friend who has durable power of attorney specifi- shouldn't — be done if they grow hopelessly ill and unable cally to make medical decisions when a patient can't. to make competent choices for themselves. A health proxy can also act for the patient who lies tem- Interest in living wills spiked when former President porarily unconscious in an emergency, making decisions Richard Nixon, who had signed such a document, died such as whether a limb should be amputated. last month, and is expected to peak again. Not everyone agrees that living wills are in the best in- The New York Times reports that Onassis, who died terest of the sick. last Thursday of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, authorized a When patients specify that their lives shouldn't be pro- living will in February ruling out aggressive medical treat- longed with machines or drugs, their wishes may conflict ment if she became too sick to be saved. with those of loved ones who want every last glimmer of Choice in Dying, a New life preserved. Family members and doctors can end up York organization for pa- butting heads over the best course of action when a living tients' rights, fielded will isn't specific enough. 11,000 calls last month on Some experts worry that living wills may encourage living wills — nearly five doctors to halt treatment when there still may be a small times the usual amount. hope for recovery. People also often fear they're signing Now it's bracing for anoth- away power to determine their fate. er wave. Fade thinks those notions are unfounded: Doctors must "Vie are seeing a much certify when patients are irreversibly sick and incompe- younger population calling tent us — more men, more "Or people say, 'I don't need any of that My family middle-aged," says Ann would know what I want"' But when it comes down to the Fade, the group's legal wire, she says, relatives and doctors sometimes are reluc- and educational program tant to follow the patient's wishes for withdrawal of food, director. "A lot of people water and/or life support. figure, 'Someday I'll fill Living wills empower patients by making sure their one out' It takes a public wishes are obeyed, Fade contends. event like Nixon or Onas- When both a living will and a proxy are authorized, doc- tors may feel more assured that the agent is making sound sis to drive it home that AP they should do it now and NIXON: The late president decisions for the patient, Fade says. "They have assurance not wait" had signed a living will. that they are speaking on your behalf, not making your Experts recommend decisions for you." talking frankly with family members and doctors before starting a living will. The process is inexpensive and the required forms take USA TODAY REMEMBERING JACKIE Onassis' diverse works are lasting By Jeannie Williams USA TODAY Jacqueline Kennedy Onas- sis' legend will live on — and so will her legacies. The former first lady has left a great deal to remember her by in many fields. A sampling ► On White House tours, you can still see her influ- ence. She was the first lady who first approached the Pennsylvania Avenue mansion as a museum, establishing the White House curator's office and White House Historical As- sociation. She supervised a ma- jor renovation — bringirg in vintage American furniture and paintings — that culminat- ed in the successful televised 1962 tour she hosted for the American public. The Red Room still contains most pieces placed there in the Kennedy years. The Blue Room has 19th-century gilded furniture from President Mon- roe's time that Onassis hunted down. And we saw the First La- dy's Garden when the Clintons read tributes to Onassis there Friday morning. Also called FAMILY: Sen. Edward Kennedy, left, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, John Kennedy Jr., CarolineAP the Jacqueline Kennedy Gar- Kennedy Schlossberg and her husband, Edwin, at the 1992 Profile in Courage Award ceremony den, it was established when she lived there. ► Culture owes a debt to Onassis. She invited artists and performers to the White House and is credited with inspiring the National Endowment for the Arts. A board member of American Ballet Theatre for a quarter-century, she most re- cently was honorary board chairman. "She was greatly re- sponsible for ABT's comeback and survival," says Blaine Trump, an ABT supporter who worked with Onassis on benefit events. "She worked hard as a 'friend-raiser' and a fund-rais- er for ABT. Last year, it was on the verge of closing its doors; now it's looking at a bright fu- ture." ABT executive director Gary Dunning says, "Mrs. Onassis was a constant source of support" and "demonstrated a strong commitment to the EARLY INFLUENCE: AP welfare of Jacqueline Kennedy was the first to treat artists everywhere." the White House as a public treasure, leading a TV tour in 1962. At the beginning of Friday's ABT performance in New Terminal, you should think of York at the Metropolitan Op- era House, artistic director Ke- Onassis. Beginning in 1975, she vin McKenzie spoke to the au- worked to help prevent it from dience about Onassis' meaning being replaced by an office to the company. building and made public state- nation in Dallas, puts it: "What ments (rare for her) during the ► When you walk through she did for her country in the New York's Grand Central drive to save it. Friday night, four dark days after her hus- the Municipal Art Society — a band's assassination and espe- cially during the funeral made her a heroine for the ages. Not Joan of Arc, not Guinevere herself ever showed greater 44 Mrs. Onassis ... nobility." She showed that no- demonstrated a strong bility again as she fought a los- commitment to the ing battle with cancer. welfare of artists ► Her fashion legacy was everywhere. simple elegance. "She was 41), quite simply the most stylish — Gary Dunning, first lady in history," says Pat- executive director of rick McCarthy, editor of fash- American Ballet Theatre ion bible Women's Wear Dai- ly. Vincent Roppatte, director of Manhattan's Saks Fifth Ave- the Taiga, about a family living nue Beauty Salon, did Onassis' in the Siberian wilderness, due hair a few times. "She wore the in July, to The Cartoon History clothes; they didn't wear her. of the Universe II and Skies in She always knew what her look Blossom: Zen and the Poetry was and she stayed with it" of Emily Dickinson. The list Onassis' look retains an im- Onassis edited, says Doubleday pact on everyday folk, too. President Stephen Rubin, "This sounds unimportant, but "shows the breadth and depth it meant something to me: of her interest and sensibility. Jackie made it chic to wear The Michael Jackson book low-heeled, rounded-toe shoes (Moonwalk) was really an ab- and made dressing-up times so erration — it's a serious list of much more comfortable," says good books." playwright Hindi Brooks, Santa Among them: Bill Moyers' Monica, Calif. Healing & the Mind and the She was a force leader in the drive — offered two-volume A ► behind an Onassis tribute in the sta- World of Ideas. the John F. Kennedy Library. Moyers calls Onassis "as witty, The library, in Dorchester, tion's renovated waiting room. warm and creative in private It's p book for the public to Mass., is a monument to the as she was grand and graceful slain president. After Onassis' leave memorial messages. in public." Doubleday's offices Book editor Onassis had death, tourists lined up in the ► will close today in tribute to lobby to sign a condolence 11 works in the pipeline at her Onassis. death. They range from Lost in book. ► She leaves a legacy of The library says it's too early to know what Onassis papers may end up there, but 14 hours of tape she recorded with JFK biographer William Manches- ter are in its vaults. Since her lips were sealed about the events that pin her eternally in MONDAY, MAY 23, 1994 - 50 the spotlight, the tapes' 2067 re- lease is eagerly awaited. Daughter Caroline is presi- dent of the JFK library founda- tion; son John is a vice chair- man. They're "very involved," says JFK foundation spokes- legacies woman Shelley Sommer. And Onassis would probably consid- heroism. As a new widow, Jac- er them the most important queline Kennedy played a ma- legacy of all. jor role in holding the nation to- gether in 1963, especially with Contributing: Marco R. della the Lincoln-esque funeral she Cava, Susan Katz, Christine organized. As CBS' Dan Rath- Sparta, Andrea Stone er, who covered JFK's assassi-

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