Subject & Paper: GS-2 (Governance: health rights), GS-4 (Ethics), Prelims

What it is & why it matters:
A new public help desk in Delhi guides people to make, register, and use a living will (advance directive) and name a health-care proxy. Decisions taken calmly, in advance reduce conflict at the bedside, respect patient autonomy, and ease moral stress for families and doctors.

Key ideas :

• Living will / advance directive: A signed document stating what treatments you want or don’t want if you cannot decide later (e.g., no invasive ventilation in irreversible coma).
  
• Health-care proxy: A trusted person you choose to speak for you if you lose capacity; must follow your documented wishes.
  
• Capacity: Your ability to understand options and choose; doctors assess this.
  
• Passive vs active: Passive = letting natural death occur by withholding/withdrawing futile treatment; active = giving a lethal agent (not permitted). The clinic’s work concerns advance choices and passive pathways as per law and boards.

How a clinic helps:

1. Explains choices in non-technical language (ICU, ventilation, feeding tubes, CPR).
   
2. Helps you draft clear instructions; lists values (comfort, dignity, pain control) to guide grey areas.
   
3. Records proxy details, ensures witnessing, and tells you where and how to store so hospitals can actually see it (digital + paper).
   
4. Encourages reviews (e.g., every 2–3 years) and discusses religious/cultural concerns with families.

Common doubts clarified:

• “Is a living will only for the elderly?” → No. Any adult can make one.
  
• “Will pain medicines be withheld?” → No. Comfort care continues; the focus is on proportional treatment.
  
• “Can families override it?” → Properly executed directives carry legal and ethical weight; a proxy is bound to your wishes.

What to remember :

• Advance directive = prospective consent for future incapacity.
  
• Proxy + clear document + retrievability make it usable.
  
• Emphasises patient autonomy, dignity, and proportionality.