SAVES - THE LIVING WILL SOCIETY BASES ITS OPERATION ON THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES:

1. That death is inevitable for every human being. It is a natural consequence of life and ought to be as dignified and humane as possible.

2. That in the event of terminal illness, or where there is no imminent and reasonable chance of recovery, the employment of artificial means to sustain life is pointless and only serves to prolong unnecessarily the distress of all concerned.

3. That in such cases a humane and acceptable alternative should be used, in the form of an advance directive setting forth one's non-consent to artificial life support. Allowing death to occur naturally, through the withholding or withdrawal of artificial life-support systems, will not affect any life insurance policy, and is accepted by major religions worldwide. (Active euthanasia - "mercy-killing" and physician-assisted-suicide - does not receive the support of SAVES - The Living Will Society.)

4. That every effort should be made to relieve the patient from any mental or physical pain and discomfort, even if medication administered exclusively for this purpose hastens the moment of death.

5. That any life-support systems such as ventilators, respirators or other sophisticated and possibly costly medical techniques be used prudently to sustain life where there is a reasonable chance of recovery; not merely to postpone the moment of death and thereby prolong the agony and anguish of all concerned.

6. That a mentally competent adult patient has the legal right to refuse medical treatment should he/she so wish, and in such instance the doctor is obliged to honour the patient's wishes.