The Florida Senate

765.305  Procedure in absence of a living will.--

(1)  In the absence of a living will, the decision to withhold or withdraw life-prolonging procedures from a patient may be made by a health care surrogate designated by the patient pursuant to part II unless the designation limits the surrogate's authority to consent to the withholding or withdrawal of life-prolonging procedures.

(2)  Before exercising the incompetent patient's right to forego treatment, the surrogate must be satisfied that:

(a)  The patient does not have a reasonable medical probability of recovering capacity so that the right could be exercised by the patient.

(b)  The patient has an end-stage condition, the patient is in a persistent vegetative state, or the patient's physical condition is terminal.

History.--s. 4, ch. 92-199; s. 28, ch. 99-331; s. 13, ch. 2000-295.