Some attorneys prefer to give a broad grant of authority to the Health Care Agent without any indication of the client's preferences. Alternatively, you can express your preferences but still leave the final decision in the Agent's hands. In addition, you may insert any limits you want to put on your agent's authority. The Agent cannot act in any way not authorized. The Agent then has no right to consent to the use of a feeding tube, no matter what the circumstances.
Many people use a feeding tube during a severe illness and then recover.
Eliminating the use of a specific treatment can create problems later on. Moreover, as technology advances, new treatments you never knew about may be prohibited by the language in your Proxy. We therefore advise great care in limiting the Agent's authority. You may wish to consider at the same time whether you wish to write a Durable Power of Attorney. A power of attorney may authorize your agent or another person to do more for you than is allowed in the Health Care Proxy.