living will (redirected from Advance health care directive)

living will, legal document in which a person expresses in advance his or her wishes concerning the use of artificial life support, to be referred to should the person be unable to communicate such wishes at the end of life. A living will usually goes into effect only when two physicians certify that a patient is unable to make medical decisions and that the patient's medical circumstances are within the guidelines specified by the state's living-will law. Typically, living wills are used to direct loved ones and doctors to discontinue life-sustaining measures such as intravenous feeding, mechanical respirators, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation that the patient would reject were he or she able. Without clear and convincing evidence of a person's wishes (such as a living will), life support may be continued indefinitely because of hospital policies, fear of liability, or a doctor's moral beliefs, even if the family believes the patient's wishes would be otherwise. Living wills are often used in conjunction with a health-care proxy, which authorizes a previously chosen person to make health-care decisions in the event of incapacity. Most states have legislation authorizing living wills. See also euthanasia.

Bibliography

See publications of Choice in Dying.

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living will

Document specifying medical measures to be taken or withheld in the event the writer is disabled. Advances in medical technology now allow the body to be kept alive in circumstances that would normally result in death (e.g., inability to eat, breathe, or maintain the heartbeat), but many people do not want to be kept alive if there is no chance of recovery. Because it is impossible to express one's wishes when in a vegetative state, a living will allows them to be stated in advance. Such a document usually specifies conditions under which a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order is to take effect and authorizes another person to make decisions on the patient's behalf.

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living will

a document stating that if its author becomes terminally ill, his or her life should not be prolonged by artificial means, such as a life-support machine