What are the Legal requirements for withholding or withdrawing artificial hydration and nutrition (e.g. feeding tubes)?
For patients/residents with capacity. The usual standards of informed consent (or refusal) apply. For patients/residents without capacity. The challenge is to make the decision according to the individual’s wishes, or if not known, in the individual’s best interest. Mechanisms to do this include: • A health care “agent,” as properly appointed on a health care proxy form when the individual had capacity is legally empowered to make decisions regarding withholding or withdrawing tube feeding based on “reasonable knowledge” of the individual’s wishes. One way to achieve this is for the Health Care Proxy form to indicate that the Health Care Agent “knows my wishes, including those regarding artificial hydration and nutrition.” • If there is no formally designated health care agent, the legal standard for withholding or withdrawing a feeding tube is “clear and convincing evidence” of the patient’s wishes. A prior written statement about feeding tubes or artificial nutrition in a Living Will
Related Questions
- Are artificial nutrition (tube feeding) and hydration different from other kinds of life-support treatment?
- How should one approach discussions regarding artificial hydration and nutrition (e.g. feeding tubes)?
- Isn t it wrong to starve someone to death by withholding artificial nutrition and hydration?
