If you have strong views about what should happen to you in the event of a bad accident or illness, under circumstances where you cannot exercise your own free will, then you should be considering creating a living will now, so that you still have a choice over what happens ..
Source: General legal
The law was a long time in the making as various groups have been working on these issues for the past ten years. While the part of the new law dealing with Living Wills is essentially identical to the prior law, the provisions of the new law dealing with Health Care Powers of Attorney and Health Care Representatives are new concepts. 2
One of the primary ethical principles has long been that health care providers must never cause or hasten death. Unfortunately, recent emphasis on promotion of living wills is not the answer and may indeed contribute to the problem of euthanasia. 21
The Living Will is a statement by you expressing your wishes and instructions for health care if you have what the law terms an �end-stage medical condition� or if you are �permanently unconscious�. The Living Will generally expresses a wish that you be kept comfortable and be given medication to relieve pain, but that you not be given medical treatments that prolong the process of dying. However, since the Living Will only applies if you have an end-stage medical condition or are permanently unconscious, it isn�t the most effective way of dealing with medical decisions in other situations. 2
In the first phase of a three-year study of 401 outpatients age 65 or older and the surrogates they selected, researchers conducted a randomized trial (the same approach used to test effectiveness of drugs and other medical procedures) to evaluate the effectiveness of two different types of instructional directives completed with and without patient-surrogate discussion. The patients indicated their preferences for four life-sustaining medical treatments in nine hypothetical illness scenarios (ranging from current health to coma with no chance of recovery). Their surrogates, 78 percent of whom had known the patients 40 years or more, then attempted to predict the patients’ responses. 4
When there is no written document, a spouse or close family member may still request that treatment be withheld if the patient cannot do so, but the request could be denied. The way states and health care providers handle such cases varies widely. Typically, a doctor or hospital representative will meet with a person�s family to discuss what that person�s wishes were. In some cases a health care facility may want to withhold or provide life support against a family�s wishes. In some cases a formal hearing may be held to determine how to proceed. 5
The Mormons have not published standardized forms for living wills or health care proxies. However, several official proclamations on related topics are available, including prolonging life and euthanasia. To obtain free copies, call the church’s public affairs department at (801) 240-2205. 6
It is evidence of the patient�s wish, and it is the patient�s wish that has legal force, not the document. Living wills cannot request euthanasia or unreasonable treatment. Living wills, once activated, should ensure that your physician and the medical facility uphold your health care treatment beliefs and wishes. Your family or your physician cannot revoke them; your living will can only be revoked orally by you or by court acting on your behalf. With a living will, you maintain control over your end-of-life decisions. If your wishes are explicitly stated in your living will, your doctor and your family should not be able to supersede them. As long as your wishes are known, they should be respected. 5
Limitations to the Power of a Living Will Remember that living wills only become active when the patient becomes terminally ill � when death is imminent and the patient can no longer communicate his/her wishes to their physician, spouse, or family. Living will DO NOT become active immediately after you sign them. 5
It is important that one discuss their feelings about health care options with their physicians. Many doctors are not yet comfortable with the idea of living wills so they may be hesitant to encourage their patients to consider the alternatives options and issues surrounding living wills and health care options.
