Life Sustaining Procedures

Each state has its own specific definition of what constitutes a life sustaining procedure. Generally, it means any medical procedure or intervention which utilizes mechanical or other artificial means to sustain, restore, or supplant a vital function, which procedure would only prolong the moment of death for an individual who has been diagnosed as suffering from a terminal condition. Some states do not include the withdrawal or withholding of artificially administered sustenance or hydration as a lifesustaining procedure that may be withheld or withdrawn in accordance with your living will.