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3. What is a "Living Will?" What is a "Will to Live?"

Before going further, it is very important to establish the distinctions between the terms “Living Will” and a “Will to Live.”

A Living Will is a legally binding document set out by a competent person who does not want medical treatment. If patients determine they do not want any further life-prolonging measures administered on their behalf, they have the right to refuse that treatment. This kind of document is also known as an Advance Healthcare Directive, and can be found in Section 8 of this workbook. As you go through this material, keep in mind that an Advance Healthcare Directive has the opposite intent of a Will to Live. It gives you the option to exercise your right to refuse medical treatment. It does not give you an opportunity to demand treatment. You do not have that right. However, if you wish, you can include an Advance Healthcare Directive as part of the document you complete for your physician, substitute decision-maker, and other designated person(s).

A Will to Live emphasizes the securing rather than the refusing of treatment. Currently in Manitoba, a patient has the right to refuse treatment, but cannot demand it. It is the attending physician’s right, and that physician’s decision alone, to administer life-saving treatment.[6] A Will to Live is NOT A LEGAL DOCUMENT! It is, however, a counter-statement to the Living Wills often encouraged for persons whose lives have been devalued.

The document you will have made upon completion of this workbook contains a Will to Live consisting of a:

	“My Life” Statement;
	A list of preferences regarding medical treatment, personal care, and support; and,
	An Advance Healthcare Directive (Living Will).

You can choose to complete some or all of the components in this book for your Will to Live.

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6	As cited in the Dominion Law Reports (1997), 154 DLR (4th) 409.

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Making A Will To Live - Contents