It is envisaged that a living will can order the end of artificial respiration or nutrition, for example, even if the illness is not fatal. However, this should only apply if the person concerned seeks advice from a doctor before drawing up the decree and then draws up the letter together with a notary and has it notarized with a stamp (costs around €25). Simple living wills without consultation should only apply in the event of an incurable, fatal illness.
Read the statement of the Humanist Association of Germany here:
“The HVD rejects the draft bill on living wills presented today as regressive, over-regulated and inhumane. The HVD continues to support the draft presented in the summer by the group led by Dr. Stünker, Member of the Bundestag.
The draft, which was presented by a group led by members of the Bundestag Bosbach (CDU) and Göhring-Eckardt (Greens), also wants to assess the binding nature of existing living wills according to whether or not they were drawn up after consultation with a doctor and a notary. However, this means that several million already existing and deposited living wills are classified as inferior, especially in situations where it is existentially important for the individual. ‘This is in no way compatible with a humanistic view of humanity. Whether a person with a terminal illness is allowed to die peacefully or not would depend on whether they have overcome the various legal, medical and not least the associated financial difficulties in the five years prior to this situation. This is not only regressive and bureaucratic, but also inhumane. People with a sense of responsibility are being degraded and subjected to a job creation program for lawyers. The Bosbach draft is an attempt to undermine the constitutionally guaranteed patient autonomy’, states Dr. Horst Groschopp, President of the HVD.
According to the draft by Dr. Stünker’s group, however, so-called simple living wills must also be observed by doctors and other authorized persons and the patient’s wishes must be enforced. In the opinion of the HVD, only in this way can the constitutionally guaranteed autonomy of people at the end of life be respected.”
