I find this VERY interesting:
"Natasha Mollica said her husband executed the document at a veteran's hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y., without an attorney. She said she was honored that her husband gave only her the power to make decisions on his behalf. They took the paperwork home and filed it. She said their copy lacked the page declaring John Mollica did not want artificial food or fluids if he went into a permanently debilitated state.
"Early this week she agreed that page, produced by the hospital through Department of Veterans Affairs records, is probably authentic. Thursday evening, she said she had doubts."
How very conveinent for the hospital! Do I smell something a little rotten here?
Their error, as I see it, "...executed the document at a veteran's hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y., without an attorney.
Yes, something smells there, too. She seems to have been 'suckered' into signing away his right to live through fraud (if they inserted the "feeding and hydration page" later) or they may simply be misdiagnosing him as PVS in order to execute the terms of his "living will."
Be afraid! Sign every page, initial every single item and make sure an attorney is present to go over the clauses and indemnifications. Also note that because the document was signed in a Federal VA hospital, it is applicable in any State.
Since Terri's case went public in a big way, a lot of these living wills have been hastily drawn up and in some cases, no doubt, they restrict rather than protect the rights as intended.
That's sharp of you to catch that. Very interesting also..