Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Living Wills In North Carolina

I went to the library yesterday(yes I read away from my computer) and picked up a few pamphlets put out by the NC Bar Association. One was regarding Landlords and Tenants and the other was entitled "Living Wills and Health Care Power of Attorney".

I read through the living will pamphlet to see what our laws were. All is basic, living will gives you the right to choose, etc... Then, there is a section entitled "If You Do Not Have a Living Will or Health Care Power of Attorney, Who Will Make These Decisions for Me". This is how it reads, "If you do not have a living will or health care power of attorney, your physician will ask your spouse or next of kin to consent to treatment, unless a court has appointed a guardian. North Carolina statutes provide that the decision to withdraw or withhold medical care if you are terminally and incurably ill, or in a persistent vegetative state, may be made by your physician, after consulting with your spouse or next of kin and after your condition is confirmed by another physician."

My physician can decide if I live or die? Any Schiavo-like cases in NC? Our state is wide open for a fiasco, if this loophole is not closed. Of course, if you have a living will there is no problem. For me that is an expense I can not incur right now. To busy paying for gas.

I will make my wishes public here. If I, Jayson Ovittore, am ever in a vegetative state or on life support with no chance of recovery, then plug the plug, tube, or whatever is preventing me from dying. My wife is to make all decisions based on my medical needs and my parents are to have no say what so ever. If my wife wants me to stay on life support, then so be it. I also do not want to be paraded around on national or local TV, like a circus side show. In no way will a Republican make decisions on my life choices. I wish to be put to rest in the cheapest way possible, so my family does not incur a lot of cost. These are my wishes.
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