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FIVE WISHES
valid in Oklahoma |
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Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson issued an opinion on April
7th, which identifies the Five Wishes advance
directive as valid in the state of Oklahoma. This is fantastic news
because it means Oklahomans can now put their wishes in their own
words, rather than having to use a mandatory state form.
New
editions of Five Wishes, which will include Oklahoma in the
list of states, will be published soon. Meanwhile, if you live in
Oklahoma and have an earlier edition of Five Wishes, you
may want to keep the following announcement with your Five
Wishes document. You are also welcome to write-in “Oklahoma
as of 4/7/06” in the list of states on page three of Five
Wishes.
Excerpt from the Attorney General’s press release:
April 7, 2006
The
nationally recognized Five Wishes advance directive
form is as compelling to Oklahoma medical providers as a
statutory advance directive
or a competent person’s verbal declarations, according to an
Opinion released today by Attorney General Drew Edmondson.
“An advance directive for health care allows individuals to
communicate their wishes for life-sustaining treatment should
they fall into a condition that prevents them from
communicating,” Edmondson said. “The form discussed in this
Opinion is the Five Wishes form, a copyrighted document
developed by a Florida nonprofit aging organization.”
According to the Opinion, the Five Wishes form “gives
an attending physician knowledge that the patient, when
competent, gave informed consent” as to the treatment he or
she wishes to receive.
“The Five Wishes form is valid in this state and can
be used in place of the advance directive form created by the
Oklahoma Rights of the Terminally Ill or Persistently
Unconscious Act,” Edmondson said.
(emphasis added)
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Five
Wishes Questions and Answers |
Answers to the most common questions
about Five Wishes. 
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