A living will describes the type of medical treatment and can explain under what conditions an attempt to prolong life should be started or stopped.

• A. False
• B. True
• C. Only for terminal illness
• D. Only for life support

Answer: (B)

A living will is an advance directive that spells out what medical treatments you want or don’t want to prolong life, and under what conditions those treatments should be started or stopped when you can’t speak for yourself. This is why the statement is true: living wills are specifically meant to guide decisions about life-sustaining care in situations of incapacity, and they can cover a range of interventions—such as decisions about resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, artificial nutrition and hydration, dialysis, and antibiotics—depending on what you want or don’t want. They aren’t limited to terminal illness or to life support alone. A living will helps ensure that care aligns with your values and reduces uncertainty for families and clinicians when you can’t communicate your wishes.