Terri Schiavo was the face of an emotional fight about the right to live and the right to die for a lot of people. It started a heated debate around the world and even got people who didn't care about politics to take a stand.
Last Will and Testament, as well as Living Will
The point of the controversy over the Florida woman who was in a coma while her husband tried to take her off life support and her parents tried to keep it going is that this kind of thing happens too often and can be stopped. It's a fight that doesn't need to take place.
In a Living Will, you can say what kind of decisions you want to be made in different situations. You can also say whether you want life support to be stopped, withheld, or withdrawn if you are in the last stages of a terminal illness, an irreversible coma, or a condition that is getting worse and the burdens of treatment are greater than the possible benefits.
And in a health care proxy, which can be part of a Living Will, you can name someone to make health care decisions for you if you can't make or communicate your own decisions.
In short, making a health care directive is about taking care of the people who care for you. It's a way to make sure your wishes will be carried out and keep your family from having to guess what health care decisions you would have made if you were still alive.
You people don't think you'll need a living will until you're old. But sometimes important decisions about health care can't wait. Everyone needs a Living Will, and they need to make one long before they think they might have health problems. You can't give someone permission to handle your health care if you can't sign the paper yourself. You must make a health care directive while you are still able to do so.
Why don't people make a will?
People often don't make Living Wills because they don't realise how important it is, or because they don't want to face upsetting issues. We like to have as much control as possible over our bodies and minds as we go through life. When you make a Living Will, you have to think about losing your freedom and independence, which is something we all value. So, just thinking about being in that kind of state of mind is very scary and makes me feel very anxious. It's really a sign of being helpless, being very vulnerable, and losing control. Not to mention that if we think about dyig, we will lose touch with everyone we love.
When we think about death, we also face hard philosophical questions that many people don't want to face.
A living will doesn't think about being sick or hurt.
When people think about things like death and disability, they often feel sad. But talking with your loved ones about what you want and writing it down in a Living Will will give everyone peace of mind.
Face it straight on and don't be afraid to talk about it. The goal is to get everything ready ahead of time.
