What if you are no longer able to have a say in a medical decision due to an accident or serious illness? With a living will, also called a patient’s will, you can express that you do not want any treatment that would artificially prolong your life in situations of illness that will lead to death. This does not involve active euthanasia – this is prohibited by law in Germany. For many affected persons, however, the living will is a way to die in a self-determined manner, with dignity and without pain.
Living will, health care proxy, care proxy.
In principle, there are three ways to provide for the worst case scenario.
- With a living will, the signer determines what medical treatment he wants to have in the event that he is no longer capable of expression.
- With a health care proxy, one gives a trusted person power of attorney in property and personal matters. This person then decides if one is no longer able to do so himself.
- With a care directive, one gives the court a recommendation as to who should be appointed as a guardian. This is only necessary if one has not granted a power of attorney for health care.
Fear of the need for care
Over 900,000 people die each year in Germany. According to a survey by Infratest on behalf of the patient protection organization Deutsche Hospiz Stiftung, around half of Germans would rather choose suicide than become a nursing case. According to the survey, 51 percent of women and 49 percent of men see assisted suicide as a way out.
The fear of needing care is therefore great among many people.
What is a living will for?
A living will refers to the dying process or to a failure of vital bodily functions that can no longer be changed and is likely to result in death. It contains instructions for end-of-life care, whereby one can explicitly name a possible waiver of treatment – such as resuscitation measures. This means foregoing life-prolonging treatment if one is terminally ill and dying.
It also means palliative treatment, which includes giving pain-relieving drugs to terminally ill people, even if these drugs may hasten the onset of death as a side effect.
