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Advance directive for health care By Elizabeth W. Abel As a result of the Terri Schiavo case, many people have asked about how to make sure they “don’t wind up in the same position.” Under Alabama law, you can make you wishes known through an advance directive for health care (also referred to as a living will and appointment of a health care proxy). The advance directive is a written and witnessed document that you sign when you are mentally competent. It indicates how you want your health care decisions to be made if you cannot express your desires or otherwise become unable to make those decisions for yourself. This relieves your family of having to guess what you would want under those circumstances. Needless to say, in view of the Terri Schiavo case, it can also save thousands of dollars in litigation costs, as well as give you and your family peace of mind. The living will describes the kind of life-sustaining care you want or do not want if you have a terminal condition or are permanently unconscious. This includes a persistent vegetative state (Terri Shiavo’s condition) or deep coma. The living will directs your physician to withdraw or to provide life-sustaining treatment—your choice! Life-sustaining treatment may consist of drugs, machines, or medical procedures that keep you alive, but don’t cure you. Life-sustaining treatment may include artificially provided food and water (intravenously or through a feeding tube). In addition to these decisions on life-sustaining treatment, you can also direct how your other medical care and decisions are to be made and carried out. The living will does not give any authority to third parties to make health care decisions on your behalf. That is provided by another part of the advance directive for health care called an appointment of health care proxy. This proxy appointment names a person or persons to make medical decisions on your behalf. The health care proxy can tell your physician exactly what kind of health care you want or do not want in all types of conditions, including when life-sustaining treatment is involved. The appointment of a health care proxy allows your family to avoid the expense of having to have a court appoint a guardian. Naturally, it’s a good idea to have an attorney help you properly prepare an execute your advance directive for health care. If the document is not properly prepared and executed, your wishes may not be followed. All things considered, the advance directive for health care accomplishes several important things: |
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