Living wills are documents that set forth your wishes, or “advance directives,” for medical treatment should you be incapable of making decisions for yourself, particularly regarding end of life decisions. A health care proxy appoints the person you want to have make decisions for you if you can not make them for yourself. A living will and a health care proxy are documents everyone should have, regardless of age. But women should exercise extra caution when creating a living will. This is because, as the New York Times has reported, many states have laws invalidating living wills if the woman is pregnant. Idaho’s law is currently being challenged in court. Other states have statutes that are silent regarding whether a woman’s living will must be followed if she is pregnant.

While there is never any guarantee that an overzealous hospital administrator will not try to impose their own values, the best way to ensure that your end of life wishes will be carried out is to have a living will that specifically addresses pregnancy. These are complex decisions, and a woman may have different wishes for end of life care and pregnancy depending on many factors including, but not limited to, how far along the pregnancy is, whether the fetus has been harmed by the illness, injury, or accident that caused the woman’s condition, and whether the treatment will cause harm or pain to the woman. If you have a living will and had not considered whether your wishes would be the same if you were pregnant, a consultation with the attorney who drafted the document is in order. If you do not have a living will or other advanced directives, get the new year off to the right start and consult with an attorney who can prepare the documents necessary to manage your affairs, financial and personal, if you are unable to do so yourself.