A living will is a document in which you can write down in advance your wishes regarding life-sustaining treatments should you become terminally ill and unable to convey your decisions to your physician. For example, in a living will you can direct that, should you become terminally ill and mentally incapacitated, you do not want to be kept alive on a respirator. You can also enumerate the circumstances in which you wish to receive life- sustaining treatments. Thus, you could direct in a living will, that should you become incapacitated, you want to be kept alive by artificial nutrition and hydration. Directions in living wills will not be followed as long you are capable of making your own treatment decisions. In addition, the creation of a living will is entirely voluntary, and therefore no one can require you to do so.
Are living wills recognized in every state?
Laws authorizing living wills have been enacted in over 40 states. However, these laws can vary in important ways. For example, according to some state laws, instructions in living wills must be followed only when individuals are suffering from a disease that will shortly lead to their deaths, regardless of medical interventions. Other states' laws provide that living will instructions are effective even if a person is in an irreversible coma that will not cause the person's death. In some states, individuals may write living wills at any time while in others, individuals may not write living wills once they have acquired a terminal illness. Some states recognize living wills for specific periods of time, for example five years, while other states place no time limits on the effectiveness of living wills. Significantly, some states will not legally acknowledge instructions in living wills that direct the removal of feeding tubes that provide nutrition and hydration.
