Iowa Healthcare Laws
Iowa law does not allow for a partner to make medical decisions on behalf of his or her incapacitated same-sex partner in the absence of an express advance directive. § 144A.7.An adult may give his or her partner the authority to make health care decisions through a durable power of attorney for health care. The document must explicitly authorize the attorney in fact to make health care decisions, contain the date of its execution, signature of the principal and be either witnessed by at least two individuals or acknowledged before a notary. § 144B.3.
Citation: Life Sustaining Procedures: IOWA CODE ANN. §§ 144A.1 to 144A.12 and Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care: IOWA CODE ANN. §§ 144B.1 to 144B.12
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Last Updated: 5/1/2008