[EternalVigilance]

I'm not letting my family go into the poor house keeping me alive in a PVS. Nor do I want them taking me home, changing me, bathing me, lifting me, feeding me, combing my hair, and giving me balloons to follow around to see if I'm "in there"...I want them to get on with their lives and LIVE.

My living will had better be honored!

Oh, believe me, it will be. Standard operating procedure, totally apart from legalities, is now that if you have a living will, no matter what it says or what you say you want, they tack it to your door and the staff takes that as the sign to offer you as little help as possible. Not every single staffer, but most. Human nature kicking in...

You couldn't get me to sign one for love nor money.

My loved ones know quite well how I feel about murder or self-murder in any of its ugly forms...

[freepertoo]

I destroyed my living will and replaced it with a medical power of attorney, which is now in the hands of three people I implicitly trust.

[spectre]

Judging from the tone of your posts, you haven't had the misfortune of a member of your own family on life support.

Never say what you would do unless you've been there, EV. These doctor's don't act on their own. If you live long enough, they will present the case to you and allow you to decide.

The question to you is does your loved one have enough money to keep them hooked up to a respirator in a nursing home for years?

If that's living, give me death.

sw