
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 10USC1044c]

 
                         TITLE 10--ARMED FORCES
 
                    Subtitle A--General Military Law
 
                           PART II--PERSONNEL
 
              CHAPTER 53--MISCELLANEOUS RIGHTS AND BENEFITS
 
Sec. 1044c. Advance medical directives of members and 
        dependents: requirement for recognition by States
        
    (a) Instruments To Be Given Legal Effect Without Regard to State 
Law.--An advance medical directive executed by a person eligible for 
legal assistance--
        (1) is exempt from any requirement of form, substance, 
    formality, or recording that is provided for advance medical 
    directives under the laws of a State; and
        (2) shall be given the same legal effect as an advance medical 
    directive prepared and executed in accordance with the laws of the 
    State concerned.

    (b) Advance Medical Directives.--For purposes of this section, an 
advance medical directive is any written declaration that--
        (1) sets forth directions regarding the provision, withdrawal, 
    or withholding of life-prolonging procedures, including hydration 
    and sustenance, for the declarant whenever the declarant has a 
    terminal physical condition or is in a persistent vegetative state; 
    or
        (2) authorizes another person to make health care decisions for 
    the declarant, under circumstances stated in the declaration, 
    whenever the declarant is incapable of making informed health care 
    decisions.

    (c) Statement To Be Included.--(1) Under regulations prescribed by 
the Secretary concerned, an advance medical directive prepared by an 
attorney authorized to provide legal assistance shall contain a 
statement that sets forth the provisions of subsection (a).
    (2) Paragraph (1) shall not be construed to make inapplicable the 
provisions of subsection (a) to an advance medical directive that does 
not include a statement described in that paragraph.
    (d) States Not Recognizing Advance Medical Directives.--Subsection 
(a) does not make an advance medical directive enforceable in a State 
that does not otherwise recognize and enforce advance medical directives 
under the laws of the State.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
        (1) The term ``State'' includes the District of Columbia, the 
    Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and a possession of the United States.
        (2) The term ``person eligible for legal assistance'' means a 
    person who is eligible for legal assistance under section 1044 of 
    this title.
        (3) The term ``legal assistance'' means legal services 
    authorized under section 1044 of this title.

(Added Pub. L. 104-106, div. A, title VII, Sec. 749(a)(1), Feb. 10, 
1996, 110 Stat. 388.)


                    Effective Date of 1996 Amendment

    Section 749(b) of Pub. L. 104-106 provided that: ``Section 1044c of 
title 10, United States Code, shall take effect on the date of the 
enactment of this Act [Feb. 10, 1996] and shall apply to advance medical 
directives referred to in that section that are executed before, on, or 
after that date.''
