2011 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 40 — Public health and safety
RS 40:1299.64.6 — General application

§1299.64.6. General application

A. Nothing in this Part shall be construed to condone, authorize, or approve mercy killing or euthanasia or to permit any affirmative or deliberate act or omission to end life other than to permit the natural process of dying.

B.(1) The withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining procedures from a patient who has duly executed a LaPOST form in accordance with the provisions of this Part shall not, for any purpose, constitute a suicide.

(2) The execution of a LaPOST form pursuant to this Part shall not affect the sale, procurement, or issuance of any life insurance policy, nor shall it be deemed to modify the terms of an existing policy.

(3) No policy shall be legally impaired or invalidated by the withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining procedures from an insured who has duly executed a LaPOST form, notwithstanding any term of the policy to the contrary.

(4) A person shall not be required to execute a LaPOST form as a condition for being insured or for receiving health care services.

(5) The removal of life support systems or the failure to administer cardio-pulmonary resuscitation under this Part shall not be deemed the cause of death for purposes of insurance coverage or the denial of insurance coverage.

C. The provisions of this Part are cumulative with existing law pertaining to an individual's right to consent or refuse to consent to medical or surgical treatment.

D. It is the policy of the state of Louisiana that human life is of the highest and inestimable value through natural death. When interpreting this Part, any ambiguity shall be interpreted to preserve human life.

Acts 2010, No. 954, §1.