Which statement about living wills and advance directives is true?

Which statement about living wills and advance directives is true?

• A. They are identical terms
• B. Living wills appoint surrogates
• C. Advance directives may appoint surrogates and specify future care; Living wills specify end-of-life wishes
• D. They have no relation to autonomy

Answer: (C)

Understanding how these documents function helps explain why the true statement fits best. Advance directives are broad planning tools that allow a person to outline preferred medical care for the future and, importantly, to name a surrogate decision-maker who can speak for them if they become unable to communicate. They can specify the kinds of treatments the person would want or refuse across different situations, not just at the end of life. A living will is a type of advance directive, but it concentrates specifically on end-of-life decisions—what life-sustaining measures should or should not be pursued when there is no reasonable chance of recovery. So, the statement is accurate because it captures that advance directives may appoint surrogates and set out future care preferences, while living wills focus on end-of-life wishes. This framework supports autonomy by ensuring someone else can act in line with the patient’s values when they cannot voice them themselves. The other ideas—that the terms are identical, that a living will always appoints a surrogate, or that these documents have no relation to autonomy—don’t fit, since these documents are distinct in scope, surrogate designation isn’t guaranteed in a living will, and they exist to protect and express patient autonomy.

Understanding how these documents function helps explain why the true statement fits best. Advance directives are broad planning tools that allow a person to outline preferred medical care for the future and, importantly, to name a surrogate decision-maker who can speak for them if they become unable to communicate. They can specify the kinds of treatments the person would want or refuse across different situations, not just at the end of life. A living will is a type of advance directive, but it concentrates specifically on end-of-life decisions—what life-sustaining measures should or should not be pursued when there is no reasonable chance of recovery.

So, the statement is accurate because it captures that advance directives may appoint surrogates and set out future care preferences, while living wills focus on end-of-life wishes. This framework supports autonomy by ensuring someone else can act in line with the patient’s values when they cannot voice them themselves. The other ideas—that the terms are identical, that a living will always appoints a surrogate, or that these documents have no relation to autonomy—don’t fit, since these documents are distinct in scope, surrogate designation isn’t guaranteed in a living will, and they exist to protect and express patient autonomy.