An advance directive is a document executed by patients authorising the cessation of medical treatment when the doctor deems they are beyond recovery. The Ulysses Clause is a built-in exception: it authorises doctors to ignore the objection under some conditions and continue treatment. The term is derived from a story in Greek mythology. Ulysses, eager to hear the beguiling song of the Sirens, which will draw the listeners to their death, asks his men to cover their ears with wax, while he himself is to be bound to the ship’s mast, but free to listen to the song. They have orders to prevent him from breaking free.
