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Ark. Code Ann. § 20-6-106

Authority of surrogate

Acts 2013, No. 1264, § 1; 2017, No. 974, § 1.

(1) A surrogate shall make a healthcare decision in accordance with the principal's individual instructions, if any, and other wishes to the extent known to the surrogate.

(2) Otherwise, the surrogate shall make the decision in accordance with the surrogate's determination of the principal's best interest.

(3) In determining the principal's best interest, the surrogate shall consider the principal's personal values to the extent known to the surrogate or agent.

(4) A surrogate who has not been designated by the principal may make all healthcare decisions for the principal that the principal could make on the principal's own behalf, except that artificial nutrition and hydration may be withheld or withdrawn for a principal upon a decision of the surrogate only if: The action is authorized by the a living will or other written advance directive; or

(5) The supervising healthcare provider and a second independent physician certify in the principal's current clinical records that: The provision or continuation of artificial nutrition or hydration is merely prolonging the act of dying; and

(6) The principal is highly unlikely to regain capacity to make medical decisions.

(7) A healthcare decision made by a surrogate or agent for a principal is effective without judicial approval.

Current official text: Arkansas General Assembly. Digitized from the UniCourt Code Improvement Commission public-domain capture. Reproduced from public-domain Arkansas statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.