Consideration of the Living Will?

In 1992 Pennsylvania adopted a law which permits “advance directives” by each of us in the event that we become terminally ill; the somewhat contradictory term that has evolved to describe such a direction is “living will”. Each person can direct that no artificial means shall be employed to extend his or her life if (a) by reason of age or illness he or she becomes incapable of expressing his or her desire, and (b) the attending doctor determines that he or she is terminally ill.

Given the medical advances of the past three decades, it is now possible to extend life by using devices not previously available. The lives of people who might have died 30 years ago can now be extended indefinitely even though the brain may have ceased to function. This made the creation of the living will inevitable since many prefer not to extend life, using non-natural means, when they are no longer conscious.

Anyone entering a hospital in this era is inevitably asked whether there is a living will, irrespective of age, health or nature of the procedure. Everyone seems much more comfortable if there is such a document, “just in case…”. Given the exposure to liability, hospitals are loathe to do anything less than perform all that medical science can provide to keep a person alive unless there is specific authorization to the contrary.

It seems appropriate when preparing conventional wills to consider the living will; before meeting with a lawyer for this purpose, a person might want to review the moral and philosophical implications of giving authority to the family, close friends, or the doctor to terminate artificial means of prolonging life where there is no hope for recovery.

Assuming a decision is made to execute a living will, there are a number of options to consider. Foremost among them is whether a specific person (usually a close relative) is to be designated to make the final decision as opposed to naming no one, leaving it to the family and medical people in attendance to decide.

Obviously, this is not a subject to regard lightly, and it is worthy of contemplation and discussion among family members in advance of a visit to your lawyer.

– Ken Butera