{"data":{"id":"us-dc/d.c.-code-7-626","jurisdiction":"us-dc","citation":"D.C. Code § 7-626","heading":"Competency and intent of declarant.","body":"(a)\nThe desires of a qualified patient shall at all times supersede the effect of the declaration.\n\n(b)\nIf the qualified patient is incompetent at the time of the decision to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining procedures, a declaration executed in accordance with § 7-622 is presumed to be valid. For the purpose of this subchapter, a physician or health facility may presume in the absence of actual notice to the contrary that an individual who executed a declaration was of sound mind when it was executed. The fact of an individual’s having executed a declaration shall not be considered as an indication of a declarant’s mental incompetency.","path":["Title 7. Human Health Care and Safety.","Chapter 6. Death.","Subchapter II. Natural Death."],"source_url":"https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/7-626","current_through":"2026-08-20 (D.C. Law 26-175)","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-29T05:44:07Z","sha256":"0f19b23b2f6b0f5a849202699f3a2f2e722369b19c67ad9b57d6f4cd62691b94","source_id":"us-dc","stale":false,"prev":"us-dc/d.c.-code-7-625","next":"us-dc/d.c.-code-7-627"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}