Charlotte Allen gives good reasons to be wary of a "living will." I totally agree with her. She subtitles her article, "I Don't Want a Living Will. Why Should I?" Click here.
In fact, when I contemplate the concept of "dying well," I can't avoid the uneasy feeling that it actually means "dying when we, the intellectual elite, think it is appropriate for you to die." . . . People facing end-of-life decisions may well feel subtle pressure from the medical and bioethical establishments to make the choice that will save the most money, as well as spare their relatives and society at large the burden of their continued existence. A "good death" -- that's the English translation of the Greek word that begins with an "e." You know, euthanasia.
There's a whole lot more in this article, even warnings about the practices of some hospices.
I agree with Charlotte Allen's opinion of bioethicists: "As far as I can tell, bioethicists exist for the most part to do some moral chin-pulling before giving the green light to whatever consensus the rest of the elite have reached." Exactly so.
She is in agreement with those who suggest "that instead of filling out a living will, people execute a durable power of attorney, a simple document that entrusts decisions about end-of-life care to a relative or friend who shares the signer's moral beliefs about death and dying."
I consider this an important article and urge you to click through.