Many states exclude pregnant women from their living will statutes, and do not allow them to refuse life-sustaining treatment during pregnancy. Some expressly make viability of the fetus or viability with life support the point at which treatment cannot be refused. Arizona, Maryland, and New Jersey allow pregnant women to refuse life support. While organized religion for the most part respects the right to die in dignity, without prolonging suffering by artificial means, some Catholic, Orthodox Jewish, and fundamentalist Protestant groups are opposed. The validity of this document in court is open to question.
Statutes deal with religion in two ways.
First, they exempt physicians and hospitals from having to comply with directives which go against their personal religious beliefs. A number of court battles start because patients are under the care of doctors and institutions who are unsympathetic to their Views. Under these circumstances, the patient can either seek another doctor or transfer to another institution. The Patient Self- Determination Act addresses this problem by requiring health care facilities to take certain steps to ensure that advance directives are respected. In New Jersey, for example, an otherwise-dead person whose heart and lungs are still functioning may be considered alive.