Tattoos have long been a method of expressing important thoughts and ideas to the world around us. Some tattoos are incredibly intricate portraits of the world, as seen through the eyes of the bearer; other tattoos are simple reproductions of symbols, or a point of view.
Chances are, if you can think of it, someone has it tattooed somewhere on his or her body. In the case of an elderly British woman, she chose to have the acronym D.N.R. tattooed upon her chest, which stands for “do not resuscitate.” To complete the ensemble, she also had P.T.O., the acronym for “please turn over,” inked onto her back. While it certainly gets her point across, does such a decision make her crazy-like-a-fox or just plain crazy?
The D.N.R. acronym is a derivative of the advance directive known as a do not resuscitate order; this order allows a person to legally direct medical personnel and first responders to take no extraordinary measures to save the person’s life. As with any legal document, however, there are certain rules, regarding the legitimacy of the document, that must be followed for it to be legally effective, and such rules do not include heading down to Bob’s Body Art for a little ink. Therefore, unless you just happen to like the look of “D.N.R.” on your chest, getting the acronym tattooed onto your chest is unlikely to carry any legal weight.
If you would like to create a do not resuscitate order, consult your attorney instead of your tattoo artist.
Michael Robinson, Estate Planning Attorney
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