§1044c — Title 10 Armed Forces | U.S. Code

Summary

If a person who can get legal help makes an advance medical directive, every State must accept it and treat it the same as a directive made under that State’s rules. A State cannot reject the directive just because the form, wording, or recording is different. If a State does not recognize advance medical directives at all, this rule does not make them enforceable there. An advance medical directive is either a written instruction about life‑prolonging care (including feeding and fluids) for someone who is terminally ill or in a persistent vegetative state, or a written power that names someone to make health decisions if the person cannot. Attorneys who prepare these should include a short statement telling States to accept the directive. "State" includes DC, Puerto Rico, and U.S. possessions. "Person eligible for legal assistance" and "legal assistance" mean what section 1044 says.

Title 10, §1044c

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)An advance medical directive executed by a person eligible for legal assistance—

(1)is exempt from any requirement of form, substance, formality, or recording that is provided for advance medical directives under the laws of a State; and

(2)shall be given the same legal effect as an advance medical directive prepared and executed in accordance with the laws of the State concerned.

(b)For purposes of this section, an advance medical directive is any written declaration that—

(1)sets forth directions regarding the provision, withdrawal, or withholding of life-prolonging procedures, including hydration and sustenance, for the declarant whenever the declarant has a terminal physical condition or is in a persistent vegetative state; or

(2)authorizes another person to make health care decisions for the declarant, under circumstances stated in the declaration, whenever the declarant is incapable of making informed health care decisions.

(c)(1)Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned, an advance medical directive prepared by an attorney authorized to provide legal assistance shall contain a statement that sets forth the provisions of subsection (a).

(2)Paragraph (1) shall not be construed to make inapplicable the provisions of subsection (a) to an advance medical directive that does not include a statement described in that paragraph.

(d)Subsection (a) does not make an advance medical directive enforceable in a State that does not otherwise recognize and enforce advance medical directives under the laws of the State.

(e)In this section:

(1)The term “State” includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and a possession of the United States.

(2)The term “person eligible for legal assistance” means a person who is eligible for legal assistance under section 1044 of this title.

(3)The term “legal assistance” means legal services authorized under section 1044 of this title.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1996 Amendment Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title VII, § 749(b), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 389, provided that: “Section 1044c of title 10, United States Code, shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Feb. 10, 1996] and shall apply to advance medical directives referred to in that section that are executed before, on, or after that date.”

§1044c Advance medical directives of members and dependents: requirement for recognition by States

Summary

Title 10, §1044c

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Citations & Metadata