Physicians are trained to preserve life as long as possible. With today's advances in technology, people live longer and healthier lives. At the same time, death can be postponed by the use of life-support machines, potent drugs and artificial nutrition. The thought of surviving without being conscious or without reasonable hope of being independent to care for one's self is unpleasant - if not scary. All adults have the right to receive enough medicine to control their pain and suffering when they approach death.
All adults have the right to control how they are treated through the end of their life.
By establishing an Advance Care Plan while you are well, you can make sure that your wishes are honored. You can tell your doctors and loved ones that if death cannot be avoided, you do not want to receive treatment that will prolong your dying. Also, you can tell them, if you so desire, that if you become helpless with little chance of ever getting better, you do not wish to receive treatments that prevent you from dying. You are not signing an agreement that says that you wish to die. The Advance Care Plan becomes active only when you cannot tell your doctor and loved ones what your choices are about medical treatments that may delay your dying.