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The following is the new statutory form of living will and an explanation of the new form. If we can assist you in updating your living will, please call us.
The living will gives you three choices about when life-prolonging procedures should be withdrawn. You may have life-prolonging procedures withdrawn under any one, two, or all three of the following conditions: |
1. if you have a terminal condition;
2. if you have an end-stage condition;
3. if you are in a persistent vegetative state.
In order to assist you in understanding your choices and the living will itself, the following are the definitions, from the appropriate statute, of the terms "terminal condition," "end-stage condition," and "persistent vegetative state."
1. "Terminal Condition" means a condition caused by injury, disease, or illness from which there is no reasonable medical probability of recovery and which, without treatment, can be expected to cause death.
2. "End-stage Condition" means a condition that is caused by injury, disease, or illness which has resulted in severe and permanent deterioration, indicated by incapacity and complete physical dependency, and for which, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, treatment of the irreversible condition would be medically ineffective.
3. "Persistent vegetative state" means a permanent and irreversible condition of unconsciousness in which there is:
a. the absence of voluntary action or cognitive behavior of any kind; and,
b. an inability to communicate or interact purposefully with the environment.
You should also note that the living will directs that "life-prolonging procedures" be withheld or withdrawn under the circumstances described in the living will. "Life-prolonging procedures" under the statute means the following:
any medical procedure, treatment, or intervention, including artificially provided sustenance and hydration, which sustains, restores, or supplants a spontaneous vital function. The term does not include the administration of medication or performance of medical procedure, when such medication or procedure is deemed necessary to provide comfort care or to alleviate pain.
You will note that (unlike the case under prior law) "life-prolonging procedures" include the provision of food and water through a feeding tube. Thus, under the circumstances described in the living will, a feeding tube would not be provided or would be withdrawn. However, if you wish, you may choose to have a feeding tube. If that is your wish, please let us know and we can amend the living will accordingly, so that you will be kept alive with a feeding tube.
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