Malta Moves Closer To Legalising Living Wills

A bill that would see Malta legalise living wills is at an advanced stage, Parliamentary Secretary for Equality Rebecca Buttigieg announced.

Living wills would enable adults to give instructions about the level of palliative care they consent to if they are ever in a situation where they cannot make these decisions themselves, as well as whether they are willing to donate their organs.

The government proposed them in a public consultation document on voluntary assisted euthanasia earlier this year.

However, it is treating living wills as a separate concept to euthanasia. As per the proposals, a living will alone would not entitle a patient to access euthanasia unless all the eligibility criteria are met.

Cover photo: Left: Rebecca Buttigieg