Living will

From dKosopedia

Category: Law

A Living Will, also known as an Advance Medical Directive or a "Declaration", is a legal document in compliance with the relevant state's law, which states a person's intentions regarding life support and measures such as artificial nutrition and hydration. A Living Will is the most reliable way to insure that your wishes are carried out. They are typically only one or two pages long and are quite cheap to have an attorney draft for you. Many states also have a "safe harbor" form which is guaranteed to be legally valid.

Interest in living wills has increased since the Terri Schiavo case, in which a husband had to engage in seven years of litigation, including six appearances before the Supreme Court, two private bills passed by Florida and the U.S. Congress in an attempt to overrule the courts (unsuccessful), and dozens of other judges and experts considering the case, all to have artificial nutrition and hydration terminated in accordance with his wife's wishes.