A living will is used in end-of-life situations. It is used in which circumstances?

• A. End of life
• B. Regular care
• C. Emergency care
• D. During ongoing treatment

Answer: (A)

A living will is a document that communicates your preferences for medical care specifically when you cannot speak for yourself in a situation where your condition is at or near the end of life. It focuses on life-sustaining treatments—such as resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, feeding tubes, or extraordinary measures—and says what you want or don’t want if there’s no reasonable chance of recovery. Because its purpose is to guide decisions in those end-of-life circumstances, it is used in end-of-life situations. It isn’t meant to govern routine care, ongoing treatments for a curable condition, or most emergency care decisions unless those emergencies reach an end-of-life scenario.