Arizona Creates New Laws Regarding Living Wills

July 24, 2009

After a lengthy legal battle and a near-death experience for Jesse Ramirez, Arizona has added a new facet to its laws surrounding living wills. After an intense argument, Ramirez and his wife, Rebecca, rolled their vehicle. Ramirez was critically injured and was left in a coma.

After just a few days, Rebecca asked that Ramirez be taken off his feeding tube and moved to hospice. His family disagreed with the decision and said that she was making it because of the couple’s disagreement. However, despite the lack of a living will, Rebecca said that she knew that it was his wishes to be taken off life support in the case of such an accident.

Ramirez was taken off of his tubes for several days, while his family gained a court order to put him back on support.  After he was placed back on, he regained consciousness and in October 2007, he walked out of the hospital.

The couple has since gotten a divorce and Arizona has created a law requiring patients to be kept on feeding tubes until an agreement is reached between disputing family members.