Can my power of attorney for personal care reflect my religious beliefs about treatment?

Yes. Your power of attorney for personal care in Ontario can and should reflect your religious beliefs, particularly if those beliefs may affect health care decisions. This is one of the most important reasons to document your wishes in detail.

For example, if your faith tradition requires or prohibits certain medical interventions — whether that involves blood transfusions, specific dietary requirements during care, or the role of prayer and spiritual support in your care — you can express those preferences in your document or in a companion wishes statement. Your attorney for personal care is legally required to make decisions based on your prior capable wishes, values, and beliefs. Religious beliefs fall squarely within this.

Health care providers in Ontario have a duty to respect the religious or cultural beliefs of patients and their substitute decision-makers where doing so is consistent with their scope of practice. A refusal of treatment based on sincerely held religious beliefs is legally recognized, even if it results in harm to the patient, provided the person was capable when they expressed that wish.

To give your attorney the clearest possible authority to uphold your religious beliefs in a medical setting, put those wishes in writing with as much specificity as possible. General statements about your faith are a starting point, but specific examples of what you would or would not want are far more useful for your attorney and your care team.