Will to Live

WHAT ABOUT "WILL TO LIVE" DOCUMENTS?

There is growing evidence that those who do not provide clear directions concerning the life-saving measures they would want are more likely to be denied them than to receive them. Many court cases have been decided in favor of removing all forms of life support. Therefore, it is important that those who do not want to be denied life-saving medical treatment, or even food and fluids, make their views known in some form of advance directive.

Two common advance directives are Living Wills and Durable Powers of Attorney. Living Wills focus on the rejection of life saving medical treatment under certain medical conditions. Durable Powers of Attorney authorize a specified person to make decisions concerning the provision or withholding of life-sustaining measures when the signer is incompetent. Though such laws appear to protect patients' rights, they have some serious flaws from a pro-life point of view.

National Right to Life has developed an alternative, life-affirming advanced directive called the "Will to Live". This document presumes that food, fluids, and life-saving medical treatment are to be provided. However, it also includes optional sections for the signer to specify conditions under which this presumption does not fully apply, such as when death is imminent or when the signer is in the final stages of terminal illness. Suggestions are given for ways to list one's end-of-life directives with precision and detail.

For a free copy of the Will to Live, contact:
GRTL - Education
Post Office Box 2665
Norcross, GA  30071
Or call: 770-339-6880

Click here to download the GEORGIA Will to Live form from the National Right to Life website. For all other states, click here.

If you need some more specific information about Assisted Suicide, Euthanasia, or other life issues, please e-mail us at stateoffice@grtl.org