Directive for care

An advanced directive for care allows you to specify how you wish to be medically treated when you are no longer able to speak for yourself – and what kind of treatment you do not want. For example, you can state that you do not wish to be kept alive artificially or fed if there is no chance of regaining consciousness.

Doctors are required to abide by patients' advanced directives for care. If there is no advanced directive for care, however, then doctors may take steps that the patient would not have wished for.

An advanced directive for care must be very precisely worded. You need to think through the options carefully before you write down your wishes. An advanced directive for care must be signed and dated by you, and city where it was made. You should check this sort of document every six to twelve months and re-sign them.

A counseling session with your doctor or at an AIDS service organization can be very helpful. Useful information and examples of these documents in German can be found at the German Federal Ministry of Justice and the Humanist Association  of Germany.