Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site cmu-cs-cad.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!think!harvard!seismo!rochester!cmu-cs-pt!cmu-cs-cad!mjc From: mjc@cmu-cs-cad.ARPA (Monica Cellio) Newsgroups: net.legal Subject: Re: life insurance and disconnecting life-support devices Message-ID: <337@cmu-cs-cad.ARPA> Date: Sat, 8-Jun-85 18:31:16 EDT Article-I.D.: cmu-cs-c.337 Posted: Sat Jun 8 18:31:16 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 10-Jun-85 08:19:49 EDT Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI Lines: 21 From: ihnp4!burl!rcj@ut-sally (Curtis Jackson) >In article <11235@brl-tgr.ARPA> ron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie ) writes: >>Unfortunately, a living will does not guarantee anything. Best to also >>make sure that your relatives understand your feelings and agrees to it. >>Otherwise they can circumvent things like organ donation preferences that >>you have previously indicated. > >Is this really true? Uniform Donor Cards are binding legal documents; I don't think your relatives could interfere with that. A living will is a statement you sign saying that you don't want to be kept alive artificially, and doesn't bind your doctors or relatives to carry it out. It is just a statement of your wishes and cannot be enforced. (Living Wills do have a space for indicating whether you want to donate organs; I don't know what the status of that part would be if you didn't also have a donor card.) -Dragon -- UUCP: ...ucbvax!dual!lll-crg!dragon ARPA: monica.cellio@cmu-cs-cad or dragon@lll-crg