{"data":{"id":"us-wa/rcw-71.32.010","jurisdiction":"us-wa","citation":"RCW 71.32.010","heading":"Legislative declaration—Findings.","body":"(1) The legislature declares that an individual with capacity has the ability to control decisions relating to his or her own behavioral health care. The legislature finds that:\n(a) Some behavioral health disorders cause individuals to fluctuate between capacity and incapacity;\n(b) During periods when an individual's capacity is unclear, the individual may be unable to access needed treatment because the individual may be unable to give informed consent;\n(c) Early treatment may prevent an individual from becoming so ill that involuntary treatment is necessary; and\n(d) Individuals with behavioral health disorders need some method of expressing their instructions and preferences for treatment and providing advance consent to or refusal of treatment.\n(2) The legislature recognizes that a mental health advance directive can be an essential tool for an individual to express his or her choices at a time when the effects of a behavioral health disorder have not deprived him or her of the power to express his or her instructions or preferences.\n(3) The legislature further finds that:\n(a) A mental health advance directive must provide the individual with a full range of choices;\n(b) Individuals with behavioral health disorders have varying perspectives on whether they want to be able to revoke a directive during periods of incapacity;\n(c) For a mental health advance directive to be an effective tool, individuals must be able to choose how they want their directives treated during periods of incapacity; and\n(d) There must be clear standards so that treatment providers can readily discern an individual's treatment choices.\nConsequently, the legislature affirms that, pursuant to other provisions of law, a validly executed mental health advance directive is to be respected by agents, guardians, and other surrogate decision makers, health care providers, professional persons, and health care facilities.","path":["Title 71","Chapter 71.32"],"source_url":"https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=71.32.010","current_through":"July 15, 2026","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-06T04:05:01Z","sha256":"3a3fe858c2a9f1a3369e277df4a5e18a16607ab447e8ea94eae8986287dd9717","source_id":"us-wa","stale":false,"prev":"us-wa/rcw-71.28.010","next":"us-wa/rcw-71.32.020"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}