The
Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA) is a draft state law that was approved for the United States (US) in 1981 by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, in cooperation with the
American Medical AssociationThe American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated 1897, is the largest association of physicians and medical students in the United States. While its membership has declined in recent years, it claims approximately 20% of practicing physicians as members...
, the
American Bar AssociationThe American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
, and the President's Commission on Medical Ethics. The act has since been adopted by most US states and is intended "to provide a comprehensive and medically sound basis for determining
deathDeath is the termination of the biological functions that define a living organism. It refers to both a particular event and to the condition that results thereby. The true nature of the latter has for millennia been a central concern of the world's religious traditions and of philosophical...
in all situations"
http://www.nccusl.org/nccusl/uniformact_factsheets/uniformacts-fs-udda.asp.
The three sections of the Act proposed for enactment read as follows .
http://www.law.upenn.edu/bll/ulc/fnact99/1980s/udda80.htm:
Determination of Death.
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The
Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA) is a draft state law that was approved for the United States (US) in 1981 by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, in cooperation with the
American Medical AssociationThe American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated 1897, is the largest association of physicians and medical students in the United States. While its membership has declined in recent years, it claims approximately 20% of practicing physicians as members...
, the
American Bar AssociationThe American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
, and the President's Commission on Medical Ethics. The act has since been adopted by most US states and is intended "to provide a comprehensive and medically sound basis for determining
deathDeath is the termination of the biological functions that define a living organism. It refers to both a particular event and to the condition that results thereby. The true nature of the latter has for millennia been a central concern of the world's religious traditions and of philosophical...
in all situations"
http://www.nccusl.org/nccusl/uniformact_factsheets/uniformacts-fs-udda.asp.
The three sections of the Act proposed for enactment read as follows .
http://www.law.upenn.edu/bll/ulc/fnact99/1980s/udda80.htm:
Section 1
Determination of Death. An individual who has sustained either (1) irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or (2) irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem, is dead. A determination of death must be made in accordance with accepted medical standards.
Section 2
Uniformity of Construction and Application. This Act shall be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this Act among states enacting it.
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