Living Will

A patient’s spouse or other family members have no right to override the patient’s decisions or their doctor’s understanding of them. Though, the patient’s doctor does have the right to overrule their living will. For example, if a patient’s doctor believes that going along with their wishes in spite of their living will, will harm someone else like an unborn child in a mother’s womb, he can overrule it. Circumstances defined in a person’s living will may not always concur some situations. When this happens, the patient’s medical care team will make a decision based on the “spirit” of the living will to be careful, and will contact anyone named in the patient’s living will along with their primary care doctor or clergy in attempt to spell out the patient’s desires since they are not able to overrule the living will. Clearly, when everyone involved are in agreement with the patient’s requests, the situation is made much easier. Legal and ethical dilemmas are possibly created if everyone involved is not supportive. A patient should review his or her living will every year due to advancements in science and medical treatments that may affect them in the future along with the possibility of their feelings changing, based on many factors and laws that may change over the years. There are three different types of living wills a person can make. One is a statement made by a person diagnosed with a terminal condition before any deterioration and after all medical measures have been exhausted. Another is a statement made by a person of good health and quality of life that is written prior to becoming ill. The third is a statement of issues surrounding a patient’s religious convictions which could include their spouse, stepchildren, adopted...

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...e patient. Financial situations such as these are an example of if a patient would like treatment introverted, then their wishes should be granted and respected.

“Clearly the preservation of life is an important goal of the human community in general and of the profession of medicine in particular. Intuitively we know life is valuable and sacred; for were it not, then nothing else would be” (Shannon, 2011, 633). Living wills give patients control over their own bodies even when they are in a state of unconscious vegetate. It gives them the comfort of knowing that their wishes will be granted when they are not in a coherent state. The patient’s family does not have the right to override their living will. That should be a good reason to create a living will, reducing the weight on the patient’s family, because in the end, only the patient’s living will, will prevail.