Should I sign a living will? Living wills are both unnecessary and dangerous. They are unnecessary because they propose to give rights that patients and doctors already possess. People already have the right to make informed-consent decisions telling their family and physicians how they want to be treated if and when they no longer can make decisions for themselves. Doctors are already free to withhold or withdraw useless procedures that provide no benefit to the patient. Some people fear that medical technology will be used to torture them in their final days, but it is more likely that the "medical heroics" people fear are the very treatments that will make possible a more comfortable, less painful death. Living wills are also dangerous because they try to predict the future. We do not know in advance what form of sickness or disease we may be afflicted with in the years ahead. We do not know what treatments we will need or what will be available. We do not know if we will need a respirator indefinitely or perhaps for just a few hours to get back to normal health. Moreover, if the living will indicates that one does not want "to be kept alive by medications" or "artificial means," what does that mean? An aspirin is medication, is it not? Drinking through a straw is artificial. People can construe meanings for these words that the signer of the document never intended. What are the alternatives to a living will? A safer route is to appoint a health care proxy who can speak for you in those cases when you are not able to speak for yourself. The proxy should be a person who shares your moral convictions and will be able to apply them to specific medical situations that may arise for you in the future. The "Will to Live" is a document whereby you can appoint a proxy and expressly indicate your desire for life-sustaining treatment if the need arises.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 03:33:07 +0000